[Prom]: The Words She Knows, The Tune She Hums

[Alexandra Lawson]

The knock at the dorm room door sent Alex into a near panicked frenzy.  He was early.  Technically, he was on time, but Alex had been holding out a thin glimmer of hope that Artemis James would be late, giving her just a few extra minutes to finish.  For once, Alex hadn't waited until the last minute to get ready.  She'd actually started with plenty of time to spare, she just couldn't get everything right.  Her hair, her makeup, everything simply would no cooperate today.  It was bad enough she was forced to use nervous, shaking hands to apply eye liner without stabbing herself and now, with her prom date waiting at the door, she was forced to try and make something happen with the long, thick locks she'd taken a certain amount of pride in.

"One second!"  She called as she put the finishing touches on the simple style she had finally settled upon for her hair.  Alex groaned to herself as she hurried into her bathroom for one last look at herself.  She checked everything she could, her hair, makeup, the way her simple, red dress sat on her petite, slender frame.  It wasn't perfect but she doubted Artemis would want to wait another few hours while she got it to the point.  She swallowed hard and gave her reflection a nod before turning and heading back into her room where she would scoop the small, off-white clutch she had readied for the night.

Alex stopped at the door, her hand hovering just above the knob.  Her eyes closed and she slowed he breathing in an effort to calm the nerves that were threatening to send her into an anxious panic.  Everything's going to be perfect.  She said to herself before taking one last long, slow breath and opened the door.

[Artemis James]

On time, he was right on time... Artemis took a deep, slow breath, in an effort to try and steady his nerves. He didn't exactly frequent social events of this magnitude, and safe to say as the time crept steadily closer his heart had begun to leap in his chest. Having spent some time attempting to himself look as less like a kid at a wedding as possible, Artemis had finally felt he looked decent enough; Yet, he still couldn't quite bring himself to knock on her door.
Artemis took another deep breath, breathing out slowly, bring his hands to his brown tie and adjusting it for perhaps the 100th time that evening; He was wearing a pinstripe navy blue suit, which he was now making final checks with to ensure that everything was clean, pressed and tidy. Of course he'd already checked it before, but it didn't hurt to go over it one more time. He adjusted his cuffs with slightly shaking hands, moving to his jacket collar and tweaking it ever so slightly.
This was it. He glanced down towards the woven wood box he'd placed at beside him when he'd arrived,
thick, carefully folded material over the top of it, hiding it's contents from view. On top of the material 
was a delicate bundle of pink orchids carefully gathered in a small bunch and bound with twine; He'd made the corsage himself. Artemis didn't exactly frequent events like this, so he was determined to adhere to the customs in case he made a mistake; The last thing he wanted was to ruin the event for Alex.

He bent down and plucked the bunch of flowers up, pouting a little as he quickly adjusted the petals into a tidier position, before looking to the door. He slowly reached out his free hand, biting his bottom lip as he gave the door a knock. A reply came back quickly, followed by the sounds of frantic movement from inside. "... I can wait if you need me to," He spoke quickly. "I don't mind." There was a few moments of silence, before the door finally opened. Artemis grinned brightly once he saw the door opening, but this almost immediately fell away. He blinked with wide eyes at his prom date, before slowly a sheepish smile crept onto his lips. "You look stunning..." He spoke, the awe evident in his voice. "Not that you don't do normally, you always look stunning you know, I mean-" He trailed off, realising that he was getting carried away, before he quickly held out the corsage with a grin. "This is for you... Orchids mean delicate beauty. I thought it suited you."

[Alexandra Lawson]

The moment Alex caught the nearly awe-struck expression in Artemis' eyes she felt a flutter in her chest. No one had ever looked at her this way. It caused her head to swim and a faint flush of crimson to instantly warm her cheeks. She couldn't help but glance away at his stammered compliment. Even the way he spoke to her was endearing. Her eyes quickly raised back too Artemis and she smiled. It was a soft, warm smile that lit up her face and brought out a faint gleam in her eyes. "You look great." She replied, reaching up to smooth out the folds of his collar even though they were already perfect. She caught his crystal blue eyes in her gaze and held them for a moment, her hands splayed out over his chest as she found the nerves and anxiety from before washed away beneath the adoring gaze of her prom date.

"Oh, wow." She breathed as she caught sight of the small flower arrangement. Artemis' further compliment that came with the orchids only succeeded in deepening the pinkish hue of her cheeks. "It's beautiful." She whispered before pausing to allow him to pin the corsage to the front of her dress. "We should go." She said quickly as she went to grasp one of Artemis' hands before he could fully pull away. It occurred to her the two of them could end up spending the entire night staring goofily at each other in the doorway if they didn't get moving. She laced her fingers between those of the hand she had trapped and started to pull him down the hallway. "We don't want to be late."

[Artemis James]

Artemis felt his own cheeks flush warmly at the sight of his prom date's own blush, bringing his free hand to the back of his neck as he drew his eyeline away sheepishly. He looked back to her when she complimented him, although it caused the crimson in his face to flush a deeper shade. He blinked at Alex as she stepped forward, gazing at her as she smoothed out his collar. For a moment, their eyeline met, his own blue eyes catching her deep brown stunning gaze. Artemis blinked at her, the nerves he'd held the entire day practically melting away under her eyeline.
Artemis had been so desperate for things to go perfectly; This was his first prom, and Alex was his first proper date... Although he had no intention of letting her know that. He just wanted her to be able to remember this night as something special; It was what she deserved, after everything she'd done for him.
After she complimented his choice of corsage, Artemis smiled and nodded, leaning in and gently pinning it to her dress. The scent wafted over him a moment, a beautifully sweet smell. Before he had a chance to say anything more however, Alex took hold of his hand, beginning to lead him down the hallway.

For a moment, a goofy smile eclipsed Artemis's face, and he gave Alex's hand a gentle squeeze; That was until a moment of realisation settled upon him. "W-Wait!" He stammered, letting go of his date's hand. He cast her a quick embarrassed grin before rushing back to her door, picking up the woven box covered with material he'd put down earlier. "Would you... I mean, would it be okay if we... Went somewhere else first? It won't take long." He hugged the box to himself a moment, before putting it under one arm and reaching out for her hand.
Artemis was growing nervous all over again... Maybe planning what he had wasn't the best idea, especially as Alex was so eager to get to the main event at the gym. What if she thought he was even more of goofball then she likely already thought he was? Well, that was a risk he was willing to take.

[Alexandra Lawson]

In her haste, Alex hadn't bothered to get the plan for the night. She'd hardly even realized the time Artemis had mentioned for them to meet had been far earlier than the prom event itself. She blinked a couple times, at first worried that her eagerness to move forward with the night had caused Artemis some distress. She turned and stepped back to him, her eyes meeting his if he'd allow in an effort to discover why he seemed to hesitant.

“Oh, Artemis...” She said, a smile instantly spreading across her face as he voiced his concern. She shifted forward a bit more, drawing closer as she kept her eyes turned upward. “Stop worrying, okay?” She said softly before she stood onto her tip toes, a hand coming out to rest upon his shoulder as she leaned in to place a gentle kiss upon his cheek. “Whatever you want to do, whatever you have planned, it's all okay.” She insisted, settling back down onto her feet as she peered up to him. Her fingers ran down, along his arm and took his hand when he reached for hers. “Tonight is going to be wonderful because I'm with you.” She said, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “Now, lead the way.”

[Artemis James]

Artemis understood Alex's haste, as he himself was quite overcome with quite a high level of giddiness; But with this having been his first prom, he wanted it to go as perfectly as possible, for Alex's sake more then his own. He felt his heart practically leap in his chest as their eyes met. He blinked at the young woman, feeling his cheeks steadily flush pinker as she came closer, placing her hand on his shoulder; She then stood on her tip toes, leaning up to press a soft kiss to his heated cheek.
Artemis could swear his heart had just lifted into his throat from how elevated her action had left him; He was likely going to spend most of the night with red tinted cheeks.
"Y-You really think so?" He spoke, smiling giddily, turning his head away a moment to try and hide his obvious embarrassment at how intensely he was blushing. "Funny thing, that's what I was thinking about you." He then looked back at her, and gave her hand another gentle squeeze, before interlocking their fingers with a bright smile.

Alex was such a beautiful person... She never ceased to uplift Artemis's heart, with nothing more then a smile or a glance in his direction; She was truly inspiring... She deserved so much. With renewed confidence from her words, Artemis gave her a nod before starting to lead her down the hallway, heading not to the gym, but towards the classrooms. Artemis was determined for tonight to be something to truly remember; She deserved to have a perfect prom night... He just hoped she wouldn't think what he was about to do was too cheesy or corny. After leading her down a few corridors, Artemis spotted their destination, a room they were both familier with.
"This is where we first met," Artemis smiled brightly as he looked to his stunningly beautiful prom date. "Do you remember?" He had led Alex up to the music room where she'd first heard him play his violin.

[Alexandra Lawson]

"I do." Alex said with a reassuring nod, her eyes locked upon Artemis'. She was certain tonight was going to be everything she had imagined simply due to her present company. She wanted a night like this where she could create the memories she never had the chance to make the year before. It didn't hurt that whenever she caught sight of the young man she was currently walking hand-in-hand with her heart did a little skip and she felt a faint flutter in the pit of her stomach. "Just relax." She added, letting her thumb brush along his hand. "I'm not going anywhere."

It seemed the moment she had seen Artemis at the door of her dorm room Alex hadn't stopped smiling. This didn't change when she realized where they were going. Alex was familiar with the music room, she frequented the studio as often as she could to talk with the musicians that were usually hanging out, or to make use of the recording booth on the rare occasion someone could convince her to sing. "How could I forget?" She said, turning her eyes up to Artemis with a light laugh escaping. "It wasn't that long ago." She gave him a playful nudge but she knew better than to focus on the length of time that had passed since then. It may not have been long, but the time had been fruitful and she had, to put it lightly, grown very fond of her prom date. She watched him, though, as it seemed like he had a plan. "What're you scheming?" She asked with a wry smirk.

[Artemis James]

With a single nod from Alex, Artemis's confidence was restored. One simple movement and instantly, she could quell his nerves. Alex truly had a talent for it... For that, and for making his heart feel as though it was dancing in his chest; He practically hadn't stopped smiling from the moment she'd opened her door. 

Artemis spent most of his free time in the music studio; It was where his passion lay, with the one thing he truly felt he was good enough at to call it a talent. Music was his outlet, the violin his method. He usually chose to practise away from other students, due to feeling as though his over enthusiasm was a touch embarrassing. He'd grown a little more open about it since meeting Alex, whom had actually made him feel as though his passionate manner was something to be proud of. He smiled at her as they stopped outside of the classroom, before it shifted to a more embarrassed one at how short their time knowing each other had been. It was a funny thing... The pair had known each other, properly, for around a month... And yet it felt as though they had always known each other; They'd fallen so naturally into a friendship, and now it felt as though it was so falling even deeper then that... And Artemis's heart fluttered like a bird at that blushing thought.
He playfully nudged her back. "That would be telling," He grinned, before carefully using his arm to push down on the door's handle without letting go of Alex's hand or putting down the box he carried.

Pushing the door open, the music room's lights flickered on automatically, Artemis quickly leading his prom date inside and closing the door behind them. He was growing increasingly nervous once again as he gently let go of Alex's hand, placing the box down on a nearby table. "Um, I know this isn't much, but I wanted to do something special," He spoke with a sheepish grin,
gently taking hold of the thick material that had covered the top of the box, carefully unfolding the thick fleece blanket until it was a large square of fabric, gently laying it down on the music room's floor. Then, Artemis placed the woven box down on the blanket, before looking to his prom date. "I... Um... I made most of what's in there... There's cookies, cake... cheese, crackers... Iced tea in the flask. I thought we could... Have a picnic here, where we first met... And... If it's okay... I want to play for you."

[Alexandra Lawson]

This was bad. It as horribly cliche and utterly corny, cheesy, and every other '-y' word Alex could possibly imagine. A picnic in the music room before prom was the kind of thing that was so melodramatic and over the top in ludicrous sweetness even a bad romantic comedy would cut this scene for being stupid. Everything in the cynical part of Alex's mind wanted to roll her eyes and make some sarcastic comment. And yet, for some reason, the brunette girl simply couldn't stop smiling. It may have been unexpected but it was obvious Artemis was trying and the effort alone in making the night special just because of her was more than enough to make her heart melt and completely forgo any sense of cynicism she may have had. In spite of her cynicism, Alex loved every second of it.

"Are you serious?" She asked, a little incredulous and a little breathless. Her eyes flicked up to Artemis and she couldn't hold back the widening smile that had been glued to her face from the beginning. "Sit with me first." She insisted, moving so she could carefully get down into a sitting position on the blanket. Her prom dress, while hardly as complicated and annoying as others, still made settling onto the floor a bit of a task. She managed well enough, though, even if she wasn't quite sure how she was going to make it up again while wearing heels. Se could walk well enough in them

[Artemis James]

Artemis knew this was perhaps the cheesiest, stupidest thing he'd ever done. Pior to this moment, the boy had thought that his idea was a little chiche, perhaps a little on the corny side... But having actually said it out loud to the female it was intended for... Well. Now Artemis was feeling more idiotic. She was surely going to think this display was utterly ridiculous... Because looking at it all now, he certainly did.
If it wasn't already painfully obvious, this was Artemis's first proper date, and frankly he wasn't quite certain what was expected of him, and so he'd done what he thought would be a simple, sweet idea; Forgetting that was was perhaps more along the lines of what a child of 11 would do with a crush then a young man with his prom date.

He pouted a little, his head bowed as he kept his gaze away from Alex, his cheeks flushing an even deeper pink. "... Y-You know now that I look at all of this it's pretty ridiculous," He spoke, before giving a sheepish laugh, scratching the back of his head with a truly embarrassed grin. "I just thought... You'd like something simple-" He then stopped mid sentence, blinking at Alex as she spoke, her smile catching onto his own lips.
"You actually like this?" He questioned, before a renewed confidence filled him; She liked it! Well, at the very least she didn't think it was as corny as he did, right? Either way, Artemis's heart could have soared at how pleased the young woman looked. He
gave her a giddy nod, before he sat down next to her on the blanket, sitting with his legs to his chest and his arms leaning on his knees. He gazed at her a moment. "You... You really do look wonderful," He smiled warmly, before reaching out and handing the woven box out to her with a small sense of pride. "I'm not the best cook, but I tried... Um, you don't have to eat any of it, of course." He then bowed his head again with another sheepish smile. "Sorry, you properly think this is a bit over the top... It's my first prom." He then looked to her. "Is this yours? Or did you get to go to one before your... Mutation?"

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex laughed a light, airy laugh as her head shook and she reached out to lay a hand on Artemis' arm. "This is the cheesiest thing anyone as ever done for me." She admitted even though there was a warmth that shone plainly in her bright, expressive brown eyes. "I love it." It was this exact thing she'd always thought was horribly corny whenever she saw it in movies or TV shows. Her eyes usually rolled so far back into her head they threatened to detach and make a full lap around the inside of her skull. Now she was here, living it in some strange way and she couldn't help but eat up every second of it. It was strange how feelings altered one's judgement.

"Artemis." Alex said, her voice stern as the hand that was resting upon his arm gave him a bit of a squeeze. She enjoyed his company. He was sweet, kind, talented and passionate about his music, among other things. He just needed to learn to relax and let that inner sweetness come out. "Stop." The smile never wavered though, even as she sought out her gaze and locked onto his deep, blue eyes. "Quit making excuses. You've set up all this and I love it. I'm going to prom with you." Her smile broadened as she looked to him. "You've already succeeded. You're definitely getting the girl, okay? Just be yourself. That's the person I'm here to be with."

With her little speech out of the way, Alex leaned back, pulling her touch from his arm and accepting the box. Artemis could do no wrong at this point. He could tell her they weren't even going to prom and were just going to stay here all night and she would have been content with that. He put her at ease like no other before him. Every little thing he did was met with nothing less than a bright, warm smile. It was her blessing and her curse, but Alex was already falling. And falling hard.

"More?" She said with an almost incredulous hint to her voice. She couldn't believe that Artemis had put so much effort into all this. It made her heart melt and swell with emotion all at the same time. "Artie, you shouldn't have." A faint trace of crimson touched her cheeks as she set the box in her lap and set about opening it.

[Artemis James]

Artemis's confidence took a slight knock as his prom date laughed, admitting that this display was in fact incredibly cheesy; She had placed her hand on his arm however, and that coupled with the warm intensity of her eyes banished the boy's nervous reservations. Hey, it may be almost painfully cliche, but at least Alex seemed to adore it. She then gave his arm a gentle squeeze, his heart practically flipping in his chest at how giddy such a simple action from her made him feel; She then went on, her voice carrying a level of sternness as she made it clear that there was no reason for him to be worried, that basically he had the girl... Obviously stressing to him not to keep trying so hard.
Her words however were going to take a while to sink in... When it came to his heart, Artemis's confidence that he usually held seemed to falter and fade, that and h simply wanted to make this entire experience perfect for the girl he felt deserved nothing less. He still gave her an embarrassed lopsided smile and a nod of agreement. With such simple actions, a meeting of their gazes, a few words... She made him feel giddy.

The box he'd handed her, large and woven out of wood, he'd purchased down in Kalispell earlier that week; Inside was a few further matching smaller boxes, inside each was the food he'd prepared along with a flask of iced tea. If she didn't fancy eating anything now, it would keep; But that wasn't all that was in the woven box. There was a one smaller box on top of the others, one tied with a bright red bow, clearly chosen to match the "fire" part of the prom's theme... And inside, was a ring. It was simple, a basic sterling silver mount with a small gemstone set into it... It was called Mystic Fire Topaz, and while at first glance it appeared as though it was clear as ice, once it caught the light it shone as though a flicker of fire was trapped inside. Artemis wasn't wealthy, far from it; But when he'd seen the ring, he felt as though it would be a perfect reminder of this night for the bright eyed, stunning girl beside him... He simply had to spend a little more.

Artemis watched her with wide eyes, his heart in his throat, hoping she'd love what he'd chosen for her.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex had said her piece and given Artemis everything he needed to, hopefully, relax. She hadn't exactly been playing hard to get, making it known from the beginning she had growing feelings for her prom date. It was now up to Artemis to let it all sink in an enjoy the night himself. Alex didn't take well to being the center of attention, rather she felt more satisfied when such moments were shared, rather than put all on her. The meticulous attention to detail Artemis had shown in planning their evening was almost overwhelming. She only hoped there would be more moments like this.

"Oh my god..." Alex's eyes widened once she'd gotten through the packaging to the ring set with the brilliant gemstone. Carefully she plucked the ring from the box, her mouth working a bit as if to form words but none came out. It had been just the beginning of the night and Artemis has already succeeded in rendering the sometimes spastic girl utterly speechless. Her gaze remain locked on the ring as the light from overhead danced within the gemstone. For a moment she seemed to actually forget what she was supposed to do with it, but her mind finally settled enough so she could slip the ring onto her right hand.

Her head shook as she still found no words to describe everything. If the night ended at this moment she would be content. She couldn't fathom any way for the night to possibly get any better and there were still hours left. Her eyes finally lifted up from the ring to the boy who'd given it to her. For a moment Alex studied his waiting gaze. She could read the anticipation of her reaction in his face, even though she was still unable to speak. With no other option to fully express how she felt, Alex reached out, curling one hand behind Artemis' neck and pulling him closer. Her free hand cupped his cheek as she went to firmly press her lips into his.

[Artemis James]

Artemis didn't know really what was expected of him in these kinds of romantic situations... Alex has his first date, this was his first prom, and frankly he never had a Father figure in his life to tell him exactly what he was supposed to do. Artemis was riding through on his intuition, and a little bit of internet research. It wasn't sure what would be too much... So he'd run on what he hoped Alex would like. Increasingly Artemis had felt his heart flutter in the girl's prosiness, his thoughts often drifting to the sweet, kind smile of the female when she wasn't around; Alex Lawson had so easily taken the boy's heart,and Artemis was more then willing to let her. She was bright, her eyes warm, physically and internally beautiful.

He tried desperately to fight off the growing nerves in his chest, watching her expectantly as the young man awaited the reaction to his gift. She gave a statement of surprise, before taking out the ring, holding it between her fingers for a moment; Artemis held his breath, biting his bottom lip as he tried to read her wide eyed expression. "Do you... Do you like it?" He questioned quietly. "I can always return it if you don't... Please say if you don't lik-" He then stopped mid sentence as Alex slipped the ring onto her finger, this action lifting his heart and bringing a wide grin onto the boy's face. "I'm so happy you-" Again, Artemis found his words cut off... But this time by Alex.

His beautiful prom date had slipped a hand to the back of his neck, pulling him in closer and had now placed her lips to his own. Artemis found his gaze widening, his cheeks flushing an instant heated red; He could have sworn his heart had stopped, even just for a stuttered moment. He felt his eyes slipping shut, closing as her placed a nervous hand to her own cheek, returning the gesture with the same gentle, affectionate warmth she'd given him.

[Alexandra Lawson]

"Shut up, Artemis." Alex whispered as her lips brushed against his. She smiled, as she had been the entire night, though. The gesture had been overdue. Everything he'd already done, the effort he'd put forth, it would have been criminal not to at least give him this much. What Alex hadn't been expecting was the nearly overwhelming surge of emotions that flooded her entire being the moment their lips. The rush that washed over her made her head swim and it nearly made her dizzy. She pulled away, breaking the kiss and inhaling deeply.

Her touch remained, her fingertips lingering against his skin as she looked to catch his gaze. "I..." The single word was all that she could muster before the smile took over her features once more. It was all horribly sappy, sickeningly sweet and borderline stupid in its execution. Alex knew that and, because of this, it was made all the more endearing and succeeded in pulling herself further into the moment. The sweetness in which Artemis carried through life had been turned upon her in full force and she had fallen for it in the best way possible.

There was nothing left to say. If Artemis was hoping to give Alex the night of her life he had succeeded in record time. She had no words that she felt did the moment justice. All she could do was pull him back to her and kiss him again.