When the Sun Falls (BTVS)

Chapter 10: Beauty and The Beast

Season 3: Episode 20

I slam the locker door shut, letting out a sigh to have all my books off my hands. I turn around quickly, right into Michael. Rushing an apology, I look up to his face.

" Hey," I say, smiling.

He looked nervous, holding his hand behind his back, " Hey."

I frown, " Are you okay?"

Michael nods, " Yeah. I-I was just- just," he pauses to take a deep breath, " You saved my life with the whole demon possession, and from Tony and the gang. I mean, you're really strong and pretty, and, I was wondering if you'd want to go to the prom with me."

I blink, " What?"

Michael smiles sheepishly, showing off white teeth under the black lipstick. " I was wondering.. If you'd like to.. Go to the prom... with me?"

I had heard him correctly. Truth is, I hadn't really thought about the prom, with everything that was going on in the demon world. After Faith had nearly killed us, and those spider things came out of the box, I'd been working my ass off trying to find a way to stop the Mayor, with no luck. The prom had been a talk in the school, and the gang had tried to refrain from talking about it when I was around, seeing I was a junior and all. Still, it would be nice to see them one last time and cheer them on. Michael waves a gloved hand in front of my face as I snap back to reality.

I smile, " I'd love to."

Michael lets out a sigh of relief and brings his other hand to the front. In it is a white rose. I take it with a grin and watch as the white peels away, leaving a fresh, fragrant, red rose.

"Thank you." I say, inhaling the sweet flower's smell.

Michael smiles before shrugging his backpack deeper onto his shoulder and walking away. There is a tap on my own shoulder and I turn around to see the one and only Harmony Kendall, flaunting her shiny blonde hair and revealing blouse. " Did you just get asked to prom?"

I twist the stem of the rose in my fingertips, "Yeah."

Harmony squeals, " Okay, we have to pick out outfits. This weekend good?"

I blink at the pace of this conversation, "Uh, yeah. See you on Saturday?"

She squeals again, " Yes! Kisses!"

With this, she waves goodbye and leaves me alone in the hallway. I looked down at the rose again, which was shifting again. The stem turns gold, as does the petals. The rose shrinks until it could fit into the palm of my hand, and the stem weaves along itself. There is poof of pink dust, and when I look back down, the rose has turned into a small golden ring. On the base was the engraving of a rose. I smile and glance around to see Michael's black hair before he is lost in the crowd.

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I walk into the dress shop, Harmony coming in behind me. Our heels click on the marble floor, as we file in. I went over to the first rack, where blue prom dresses were all neatly organized. They were all made with shimmering fabrics, most of them with gemstones or flowers.

I wanted a deeper colored dress, so the blues and light pinks didn't seem to fit my description. Harmony comes over with three dresses in her hand. There was a sleeveless blue one, a puffy gray one, and a shimmery pink one.

She tries each of them on, which takes a good 15 minutes. Then we look around more, seeking out more options. After nearly two hours, she finally decided on the shimmering pink one. I found an angelic dress. It was a silkey, tight white dress with deep green lace embroidered on the top. It was strapless, but I had the perfect necklace to top it with.