Prom night! The energy in the air was bittersweet. The people you sat next to for years were one night away from being strangers and the security blanket that was your youth abruptly gets snatched away, leaving you with an uneasy start to a whole new life. For Jade, high school was a pretty great experience. She had good friends, good grades and was even one of the star players in her school's soccer team. Sitting in a rented black limo with her three best friends, she couldn't help but drift off into the thoughts of what she did and didn't end up doing in her time at McLarren High. And one of the things that was particularity on her mind was her love life. You see, she knew she was a lesbian since the 1st grade. But not a single person knew about her sexuality except for herself. It's not that she hadn't accepted that part of herself, but it was the way that people would look at her after coming out that freaked her out. Especially her parents, who are not homophobic, but are very pushy about the way they think Jade should live her life. And you guessed it, it involves a man and a corny white picket fence. She just didn't want to let them down and she didn't want to have to deal with her friends questioning whether she secretly had a crush on them or not. Plus, there hadn't been any girl at her school that really made her feel like she was worth pursuing and potentially coming out for. Making a genuine and romantic connection was just all around hard for her, and that was one of the reasons why she didn't have a date to prom either. That, and the fact that she didn't even like boys enough to pretend to date one.
Finally, the limo pulled up at their school and it was starting to get dark outside. Jade shook off all of the thoughts that could potentially ruin her only shot at a senior prom and excitedly jumped out of the vehicle with her friends. Once all of them stepped off, they stood there, exchanging looks of what seemed to be a a mix of sadness that the school year was over and of excitement for the night they had long anticipated. They all then decide to hold hands while walking towards the entrance of the school gym, making Jade feel like as long as she had her friends, she wouldn't feel alone without a date. But right before reaching the big gymnasium doors, some boys whistled in their direction, from behind them. When they all turned around, Jade's friends started to squeal with excitement- it was their boyfriends. Jade then stood there with a fake smile as she watched them all run up to their respective partner and hug them, realizing after, that they had all let go of her hand. She then tells herself mentally
"Relax, you're not gonna be alone in there. You're gonna have fun."
After awkwardly standing there and trying to glance over at other things to distract herself, the couples finally walk towards her, indicating that it was finally time to go inside. As they got closer to the doors, the muffled music got louder and louder until one of the guys opened the door, causing all the colored lights from inside to glare out into the open. Jade was officially excited for prom again.
It was awesome inside! The music was great and they even played some songs that were inside jokes and that only some seniors would understand. But luckily, Jade realized that she was a part of some of those jokes and it actually made her feel less alone and like she was actually a part of that prom. After that, she felt more free to dance with her friends and joke around with them as they all genuinely enjoyed themselves. The prom committee then played a slideshow, projected onto a wall, with all the pictures taken from that year. Jade and her friends wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders as they watched the pictures come and go, leaving them with tears in their eyes. The night was truly going better than expected. When the slideshow had finished, everyone clapped and started hugging each other, as if it were a pre-goodbye. And it made Jade even more emotional. As everyone was still in a vulnerable place, the DJ started to play a slow song. Her friends had then let go of her yet again and walked over to their partners for comfort. As she froze there, in the middle of the dance floor, feeling abandoned again, she looked around her as couples started to flood around her. Feeling confused, she looked around her and realized she was the only single person still standing there. Her cheeks started to flush. She felt like the scenario she was in was the perfect way to get her to be upset about being single again and she didn't want any part of it. Still feeling emotional, she ran out of the gym and into the girl's bathroom, as fast as she possibly could.
