Prom night buzzed with anticipation. Fin could hardly believe a year had passed since he met his friends from another dimension. Quinton and Synan thrived: Quin nearly finished university, and Synan focused on college prep. Lee stuck close to Jack, and Fin still marveled at Jack’s loyalty to the Unicorn. Lee’s knack for scaring off would-be suitors certainly helped, and the Unicorn worked his magic well, even while invisible. Now, after four challenging years, Jack and Fin stood just a month from high school graduation. In three months, Fin would finally meet Alistair in person, and Jack would see Lee with his own eyes. Neither could wait.

Fin studied his reflection in the mirror. Platinum hair, finally grown out, stood spiky in the back and swept forward, accentuating his navy blue eyes and the beauty mark beneath his left. For prom, he’d chosen a slate gray suit, a crisp white shirt, and a navy tie to match his eyes. Cobalt blue cufflinks, his subtle tribute to Alistair who couldn’t be there, completed the look.

Fin’s father and Jack’s parents had teamed up to rent a limo for the night. When Fin stepped outside, Jack waited by the sleek car and Lee, dressed in his own formal clothes, stood beside him. Grinning, Fin joined his friends, excitement building for the evening ahead.

"Oh crap," Lee groaned, grinning. "Guess I'll have to keep an eye on both of you tonight."

"Woo-woo," Jack cat-called as he walked down the sidewalk. "Don't you clean up nice?"

Fin turned as Jack approached, an easy smile lighting up his face. Jack wore a gray suit, a cotton candy pink shirt, and a deep red tie dotted with tiny pink hearts. For once, his hair was combed and slicked back, making his hazel eyes look huge.

"Yeah, says the one who cleans up even better!" Fin teased. "You look great!"

"You both do." Lee grumbled. "Nothing makes me feel more uneasy."

Fin gave the Unicorn a sheepish smile as he relayed the message. "Lee's not happy about how good we look in our suits. Not one bit."

"He doesn't like it?" Jack slumped a little, but his smile stayed in place. "The pink and the hearts are for him. Maybe the underpants I got were a bad idea..."

Lee wrapped his arms around Jack, slipping his hands into Jack's back pockets and nipping playfully at his neck. "It's going to be a full-time job keeping people away from you tonight."

"...um, he says he'll be beating people off you with sticks all night." Fin replied.

Jack smirked and pulled the invisible Unicorn into his arms, grinning at the familiar warmth.

"Hey, if he's going to be beating anyone off, it should be me."

"On the contrary, I would rather have you to cling to me forever," Lee admitted.

"He said you could cling to him forever if you want," Fin responded.

Jack rested his chin on Lee's head and draped himself over the petite Unicorn. Anyone watching might have thought Jack performed a trick to stay upright, since nothing visible supported him.

"You'll get sick of me eventually," Jack murmured, feigning innocence. "I burp and forget to floss."

Lee rolled his eyes. "I know, I stalk you all day, every day. Trust me, that's not gonna stop me."

"...I'm not going to repeat that." Fin snickered. "The gist of it is, he'd still have your babies."

"I'm not sure that will work," Jack said with a laugh. "But I think he and I need to keep trying to get him pregnant. Never give up!" The brunet shook his fist at the sky before laughing again. "Shit, I forgot my overnight bag. I told mom that the hotel check-in info is in my phone, but she still printed me a sheet for it and I stuck it in there. Be right back."

Jack kissed Lee's cheek and jogged back into his house. He returned almost immediately, old backpack in hand.

"We ready?" he asked.

Fin picked up his own messenger bag.

"Ready as I'll ever be." He responded.

The three friends boarded the limo and set off. Lee spotted the complimentary champagne and poured himself a glass. He set a celebratory tone for the night.

"Don't mind if I do," he said, taking a sip before handing the bottle to Jack. "Want some?"

When the bottle floated in his direction, Jack got the idea and grabbed himself a glass. He held it out for the Unicorn to fill.

"I know Fin won't have any," Jack said with a smile and nothing but understanding in his voice. "So, it's up to me and Mr. Invisible to make sure this doesn't go to waste. Clinkies!"

Jack tapped his glass against Lee's, both of them grinning.

"Cheers!" Lee said, raising his glass. "What's the deal, Fin? You won't drink, even when it's free?"

"The one time I will willingly drink will probably be after graduating. And even then, it would only be a small amount for the toast." Fin clarified.

"There is nothing wrong with sparkling grape juice," Jack commented after slugging back half his flute of champagne. "That shit's more delicious than champagne."

Jack let his best friend be. He knew the allure of liquor, but he also feared it. If he ever started, he worried it might take hold of him just like it had with his dad.

A short while later, the limo pulled up to the hotel hosting prom. As Fin stepped out, he quickly picked out classmates and familiar faces. Everyone looked amazing, even those who craved attention with their wild neon outfits.

"Wow, looks like everybody turned up and turned out." Jack waved back at someone who'd seen him. "Let's check in and drop off our junk in our rooms and then come back down." The hazel-eyed teen dropped a wink. "You know the party can't start until we show up."

The clerk checked them in without any trouble, and they rode the elevator to their rooms in no time.

"Oh my god, whirlpool tub!" Jack stuck his head through the door connecting their rooms. "Does yours have a giant tub in the corner? And there's a frigging espresso machine in here!"

"Yep! I'm really looking forward to trying it all out after the party," Fin agreed.

The pink-haired Unicorn let out a quiet sigh as he watched his human friends get excited about the night's events and their rooms. He knew he had his work cut out for him. Lee was determined to keep any overly grabby people away from Jack and Fin alike.

Jack dropped his backpack on the king-sized bed and zipped through the door adjoining the rooms to snag Fin, who was scoping out the bathroom.

"To the party!" Jack grinned boyishly. "I can't wait to see the theme. What was it again?" the brunet asked as they stepped into the hall and the door clicked shut behind them.

Fin snorted, "Hollywood Bonanza?" he mused as they made their way to the party.

"What does that even mean?" Jack asked as they walked.

"I have no clue!" Fin admitted. The two of them got in line to swap their tickets for their table number and gifts. They were forced to go through an archway for pictures before they could put their stuff down and get something to eat.

"You know my mom is going to frame our prom photo and put it on the wall." Jack shoved a little wheat roll in his mouth as they sat down. "Dad will shit. It's going to be hilarious. You are the bomb for letting me pose with you like that. I loved the look on the photographer's face when I laid my head on your shoulder."

"Yeah, that's going to be one moment I'll never forget," Fin agreed with a snicker. He grabbed a plate full of appetizers and shared them with Jack. "Oh God," He mewled as he bit into one of them. "These are soooo good."

"Why aren't there tiny weenies?" Jack complained jokingly as he snatched a chocolate-frosted-something from Fin's plate. "The rule is that really big parties need tiny weenies and cream cheese mints." The brunet popped the round treat in his mouth. His hazel eyes widened. "Holy shit, Fin, these are filled with caramel pudding! Not butterscotch, caramel!"

Fin had lost count of how many times he'd heard Jack rail against the evils of butterscotch, Satan's caramel, as Jack called it. Muffins were dubbed Satan's cupcakes, and bagels, Satan's donuts. Jack's fondness for frosting made his logic oddly consistent. Still, Fin never quite understood Jack's hatred of butterscotch; the complaint always came up when pudding was involved, since butterscotch pudding was typical, but caramel pudding was rare.

Fin reached for one of the caramel-filled chocolates and nearly melted. "Mmmmm," he moaned. "These are the best."

"I know, right?!" Jack licked his lips. "We need more of those. Oh my god, is that a tiny cheeseburger?"

The boys happily stuffed their faces, drawing a few looks when they happened to moan a bit too loudly. Miraculously, they managed to keep their suits clean, even when Jack started yanking pickles out of the tiny burgers because he decided they were gross.

"Okay, I'm done. If I eat one more cream poofy thing I'm going to pop." Jack wiped his mouth and fingers on a napkin. "You want to come dance, Fin?"

"Yeah, we definitely have to dance some of this off." Fin added as he stood up and walked with Jack to the ample dance floor. The two of them danced rather well, and together, they managed to rile others to join them on the dance floor as well.

They soon found themselves surrounded by a crowd of exuberant, dancing teens. With only a month until graduation, the seniors were celebrating, while juniors looked forward to summer. Even when Fin and Jack got separated, they kept dancing, catching glimpses of each other through the crowd and knowing they'd be reunited on the dance floor soon enough.

Surprisingly, no one tried to grind up against Jack. Usually, the lustier students jumped at any excuse to get close. But this time, whenever someone tried to grope or fondle him, they stumbled away from a sharp pain and could never spot who caused it. The same mysterious protection had happened at homecoming.

Lee had his hands full keeping an eye on his two favorite humans. Fending off the more flirtatious teens drawn to Jack was a full-time job, and nothing grated on the Unicorn's nerves more.

After dancing for five songs or so, thirst drove Fin to the punch bowl in the back. The juice delivered several layers of sweetness and a slight tang he couldn't quite place. He found the punch refreshing and delicious.

Jack saw that Fin had left the gyrating throng under the flashing lights. Trying to use sign language above his head was sloppy and confusing, but he got his message across to Fin.

Done dancing?

Fin grinned and flashed his own message: Dancing? Soon! He gulped a second cup of punch and dove back onto the dance floor, determined to celebrate with his graduating class.

Jack found the little water bottles in ice buckets oddly charming, and Fin stuck with the punch, savoring its sweetness. They paused for snacks when the music stopped to announce prom king and queen. The winners didn’t surprise anyone. The girl who won queen, Kelly something, was pretty, popular, and genuinely nice. She played several sports and had a softball scholarship for the fall.

Dale, the prom king, was a notorious jerk, popular and on the football team, but also one of Fin’s worst bullies. Kindness clearly wasn’t a requirement. Kelly didn’t look thrilled to dance with him, but she smiled politely and kept her distance. Jack made a face and turned away, focusing on his plate. He discovered a huge platter of cream cheese mints, popped several into his mouth and hummed with delight.

Fin grabbed more caramel-stuffed chocolates, unsurprised by the awards. After the king and queen danced, they announced the 'most likely to' winners. Jack picked up 'most dateable' and 'best all-around,' while Fin earned 'best eyes' and, to his surprise, 'best smile.'

Jack fist-bumped his blushing bestie when the spotlight swung to Gloria Samson, who won 'best smile' for the girls. When the music and dancing started back up Jack headed off for a bathroom break.

"I'll be back to shake my ass in a minute, Fin." The brunet waved as he went to hunt down a restroom.

Fin grabbed another glass of punch. By the time he was halfway through his third, he felt hot and giddy, almost too much so. He slipped away from the dance floor and out into the cool night air, hoping to clear his head.

"Good grief..." He grumbled as he took a deep breath of the night air. "Someone must have spiked the punch..."

Cool, sweet air washed over Fin, a relief on this late April night. He leaned against the building and breathed deeply, letting his eyes wander. A small iron gate between two bushes caught his attention. Moving with deceptively steady steps, he slipped through to a stone-paved patio circling a cement fountain. Several benches waited among thick bushes and quiet flowerbeds, ready for summer’s first bloom.

Dale was having quite a night. He was the prom king, against all odds. And one of his teammates had been able to spike the punch without getting caught. He took a few glasses full of the punch himself as the night played on. His olive green eyes peered around the masses, his gaze drawn to Fin for the umpteenth time that night. Since he had been on a roll all night long, he decided to test out his luck even further.

The moment that Fin walked outside, Dale followed behind. The sight that greeted him was too good an opportunity to pass. The blue-eyed teen held onto a bench with both his hands, half hunched over it. Taking the position as an invitation, the prom king took hold of Fin's hips and ground right against his fancy ass.

"Well, well...what a grand offering. Don't mind if I do, rosebuds."

Fin gasped, stumbled, then steadied himself and shoved Dale's hands away. He spun to glare up at the taller teen.

"Leave me alone, Dale." Couldn't the jerk give him one break? They were close to graduating!

"I wish I could," the redhead groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "I tried ignoring you and then I tried forcing you away. I'm not a fucking fag, like you. But, shit, you look good. And I think maybe I could do some of that experimenting stuff they talk about...do it with you."

Fin gaped at the redhead as if he had grown three heads. "Are you... serious ?" He accused. "I'm sorry, but you're way too late. I'm already with someone, Dale. And he's amazing."

"Don't lie to me." Dale's darker red eyebrows drew together over eyes bleary from too much spiked punch. "If you were with someone, you would have brought him with you to prom, not fucking Jack." He snatched Fin's wrist with one clammy hand. "So, why don't you stop playing hard to get and start playing along?"

The shorter teen tugged his wrist back, hard. "I'm not lying! Alistair is older, more mature, and all-around better than you."

"You're only saying that because you haven't tried me out." Dale growled as he forcefully tugged Fin flush against him, grinding against him and kissing him hard.

Fin was so shocked that he was slack-jawed, which gave Dale an opening. The redhead's tongue dove inside to dominate Fin's mouth.

The blue-eyed teenager tried to shove himself free, but the athlete's grip was too firm. With a deep frown, he bit down hard on Dale's tongue.

The football player swore and yanked his head back, but kept his bruising grip on Fin. Dale spat blood on the paving stones.

"You little shit!"