1This takes place during episode 39 and spoils parts of it quite heavily.
First Charlotte goes and now Li's up and left her. Great, enjoy yourself, have fun visiting your Grandparents in China, she'll just go to prom alone. Not only dateless, but friendless too.
It's frustrating, but Amber supposes she can't blame Li. What kind of school announces a prom the day before it happens ? She barely had time to get her dress in order, not to mention getting her hair extensions in. They cost an arm and a leg on short notice. Thanks Priya.
Even though she bitterly anticipated Li's absence beforehand, she had no idea how much prom would suck alone. Yeah the gym is pretty alright looking, and Mr Faraize's not a bad D.J, but what's the point ? She wouldn't be caught dead dancing alone.
Misery loves company and she takes some solace in the fact that she's not the only one loitering on the sidelines, staring into her punch to avoid making eye contact with the other losers. Melody's so damn alone she's chatting with the teachers, and Armin's by himself, hanging around the refreshments table like a bad smell.
Well to hell with it, date or not she's going to make her own fun. She takes a gulp of punch, emptying the cup half way, and decides the punch needs a little bit of a kick.
She walks leisurely towards the locker rooms, slow and casual enough that her destination doesn't appear obvious. She keeps her head turned away, facing the door to the courtyard and feigns interest in whatever Priya's doing heading out that way. She's a better actress than any of these people would give her credit for.
Stepping inside the locker room she takes a glance around her, ensuring she's alone, before she puts her foot up against the tiled walls. She reaches between the slit of her dress and removes a hip flask from her garter. She takes another look around her before filling the remainder of her cup with vodka.
"Boo."
Amber turns her back to the doorway and scrambles to hide her flask, before glancing back to the sound of laughter and seeing it's only Armin.
"Don't sneak up on me like that." Amber says, gritting her teeth. She has a mind to shout at him but she wouldn't want to run the risk of being caught, even with the loud music. She pouts, seeing he's still laughing to himself. "You think you're so funny."
"I kinda am."
Amber rolls her eyes and before she can respond verbally Armin's gesturing with his cup. She obliges and fills it to the brim.
"Thanks," Armin begins, raising the cup to toast, he looks down at his hand "I guess I can't rat on you now."
Amber huffs as she puts the flask back where it belongs. "More jokes, did you come here to taunt me ?"
Armin laughs, not to mock her, but in an awkward, incredulous way. "Amber I'm not taunting you, I'm just checking on you," he shrugs his shoulders, "Without your usual group I figured you must be lonely, yeah ?"
"Why ?" Amber asks, tipping her cup towards him, "looking to keep me company ? Didn't you get enough of me in science class ?"
"I guess not."
There's a pause. Not an uncomfortable one. They're both silent, assessing both the situation and how they feel. Maybe it's the fact that school is over and they won't have to run into each other in the halls on Monday after this, or maybe it's that they both look so good dressed up like that. But it's probably all those happy couples making them realise what they're missing.
When the doubts and wonders disappear they're in each other's arms. Amber's dress makes it so, so easy for Armin's hands to roam the breadth of her thighs, and she wraps a leg around his waist to let him. She pulls him close until she can feel his chest rising against hers.
They both taste sugary and with a lingering aftertaste of spirits. And they taste every inch of each other, with Amber's mouth wandering beneath Armin's collar. It makes him weak at the knees and he can barely hold her up any longer. She puts her foot back down and pulls away.
"Alexy's gonna ask who those lipstick marks on my collar belong to." Armin says, readjusting his shirt.
Amber grins, as she walks over to the sink to fix her lipstick in the mirror. "Tell him you kissed the most beautiful woman at the prom."
"But then he'll know I'm talking about you."
Now it's Amber's turn to laugh. "Flattery will get you everywhere with me." She smoothes down the fabric of her dress. "C'mon let's get some air."
Outside in the garden, Priya sits alone. She seriously freaked out Lysander earlier, but that's only one minor issue on a list of many. Her main problem is she's not over Olivia, and all this time she thought she was. There's an entire ocean between them, and perhaps naively Priya thought that physical and emotional distance could go hand in hand. But it doesn't, her heart yearns for someone over five thousand miles away.
Strolling over in her glimmering gold comes Iris, her wavy curls bouncing as she walks. She tried something new for the evening and she looks ravishing. "Are you alright Priya ? You've been out her alone for a while now."
"I'm fine," Priya says, beaming a smile, "I'm just getting some air."
Iris takes a seat on the bench next to Priya. She chews her inner lip before deciding to speak. "You always close your eyes when you lie. You're naturally honest, you can't look at me and lie."
Priya smiles again, softer this time, and looks towards the ground instead of looking at Iris. "You're very good at reading me. I didn't know I had a tell."
Iris places a hand on Priya's knee. "You can tell me anything."
Priya shivers. She came outside to get away from the heat but now the cold night breeze is getting to her. She holds her arms crossed to her chest to warm herself up. "Have you ever had trouble getting over someone ?"
"Yes." Iris doesn't have to stop to think before she answers. She still holds the scars from Tim.
"I suppose everyone has their heartbreaks," Priya sighs, and rests her head against Iris' shoulder. The sequins of her dress aren't exactly comfortable, but the warmth of Iris' body is a cure for a cold night like tonight. "I'll be fine. Not tonight but eventually."
It's not pity, and it mightn't be love, but for whatever reason Iris places a kiss on Priya's forehead. Priya there leaning against her, resting in the crook of her neck, it like felt the most natural and innocent thing for her to do.
Priya looks up, surprise in her eyes but not a word on her lips, and cranes her head up to kiss Iris back. It's everything she needs in the moment, comfort and friendship. Everything else can be figured out later. There's no need to decipher themselves when impulse feels this good.
Where I live it's pretty common for women to sneak small bottles of alcohol into their Debs(Prom) by hiding them under their dresses. I know mcl is French and they have class, but it's going in the fic anyway. Iris didn't appear at the episode in canon, so I decided what she's wearing.
