After the hooping, hollering, and confusion of yesterday, the students were psyched. Some showed up 'in-costume' early, but were forced to change back, and save it for the dance. The new coach, whoever they were, took about four kids home just to grab clothes. It was a little bit scandalous.

Finally, the end of third-period came, and everyone was out in full-force. Girls adjusted their dress pants, suit jackets and ties, their hair slicked back, some even cut short for the occasion. Boys, looking a mix of embarrassed and incredulous, laughing at one another and stuffing their bras to fit their dresses (borrowed from their moms, sisters, grandmas, etc.). A few had even dared to wear lipstick and eye-shadow, or blush, though not a one could walk in heels, so sneakers and sandals were permitted. I was excited to say the least – Genevieve gave me a black dress with shoulder straps (which I'd safekept in my closet, behind the scythe-staff), and my feet were small enough to fit a pair of ballet flats. My mixed-auburn hair was already long and wavy, my eyelashes naturally thick. I endeavored a twirl, and my hem flew afloat, revealing my black tights. On this day, I feared nothing.
"You know you're supposed to cross-dress, right? It kind of makes the rest of us girls look bad," said a voice behind me.
I turned away from the snack table, holding a paper cup of punch and a plate of crackers and cucumbers. The static-ridden, over-blown music from the standing radio made it tough to tell who was talking. I saw only a handsome, straight-haired brunette, with parted bangs and chocolate-brown eyes; wearing a tuxedo.
"Lana Seong-Yi. And you are?" she asked.
"Garcia." I answered.
"Grim?"
Oh no, not again. She was way too pretty to lose.
"GAR-SEE-AH!!"
I tried to yell over the music. The gymnasium was surprisingly small when it was packed, and I started to feel kind of claustrophobic. My bare shoulders were cold, and my face was warm-
Please, just focus on the dance.
I shook my head and downed my drink.
"Anyway," Lana started again, "you should have worn a tux. My parents had a laughing fit when they saw me."
"I-" I mumbled, "...this was my idea..."
"What did you say?! Whatever it was, I'll take it as a compliment."
She turned to me and offered her hand.
"Care to dance?"
She was beautiful, even (or especially?) in a suit. I took her hand, and my heart beat almost as heavy as my feet. She led me, holding me by the waist, and we waltzed.
"Your boyfriend is gonna get jealous," I joked.
"Don't have one." she replied.
Score.
"We should fix that." I replied back.
"No can do. I am, for tonight, the notorious lady-killer Lancer Seong-Yi, and you are but one of my many consorts," she declared.
I laughed and blushed. "I'm honored."
"Besides," she went on, "have you not a previous engagement with Sir Drake of Tempest? I heard tell you and he traded courtship on the library floor."
"Oh, swoon," I pretended to faint, "Warn me if you see him, I'll start running."
We both laughed, but Jules and Tony approached, reeking of anger. "Hey, ladies! I think you owe us a dance." They were wearing dresses too, Tony's apparently having been borrowed from a house-maid. Jules, on the other hand, could have passed for the Queen of England.
"Quite right," said Lana, rolling her eyes as she bid her adieu, leaving me with but a smile and a butterfly in my stomach. I guess her, Tony and Jules were friends, by some unholy coincidence. Lana and Tony started dancing, slowly. Jules, being closer to my height, asked for my hand. I agreed, mostly because he was a safe presence compared to other guys. We spun around in circles, hand in hand.
"So you're 'Grim' now, eh?" Tony narrowed his eyes, obviously having heard from someone else. "Your mom is Mrs. LaFayette. She's real pretty, y'know. I wouldn't mind a date with her."
I've seen my mom roll her eyes with disgust so many times, I kind of just... reflexively did so. Lana looked offended too, likely because it's poor form to lust for someone's mom while dancing with a lady.
"Hmph," Tony huffed. "Y'know, Grim, I think you're just pretending to be a boy so we don't ask you out. They say things get passed down, from parent to child. Some day, you're gonna be as beautiful as your mother. And when you are, you'll want someone like me to beat the other guys off with a stick."
"Two sticks," Jules corrected, hands entangled with mine, leading the dance as I remained silent. "One for the boys, one for the girls. I heard Atlas is a ladies' man himself, and he's slept with half of the lady teachers in town."
I noticed that a sticker-bandage on his neck had slipped off, with a small bruise underneath. Jules quickly flattened it back on with his palm.
Tony let go of Lana, and she shook her head.
"You're such an ass," she spat. "You aren't paying a lick of attention to me!"
"Whatever, babe, run along," Tony chuckled, watching her take a step back. He turned back to Jules and I, and suddenly the atmosphere changed... dropped. Jules's grip tightened, and he didn't feel quite so safe anymore. Tony continued. "That's why we gotta clear the air, right? Make sure everyone knows where you stand, so they don't get so confused no more." Tony picked up his cup, and spat into it. I started to get the feeling that between the two boys, Tony was the one calling the shots.
I didn't want whatever they had planned to happen to me, so I stepped on Jules' shoe as hard as I could and smiled. "Whoops! Little accident."
His jaw dropped, and he staggered back. Tony caught him before he fell over, like a fresh-cut tree. He got upset, and shouted at me. "HEY, that wasn't very NICE! I'm telling your MOM!"
I rolled my eyes, and tried to join Lana as she was walking away. She didn't see me, so I touched her on the shoulder. She flipped out a little, and put her arms up defensively. "Hey, don't touch me!" Then, examining me, she relaxed. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?"
"I, uh... I just..." I stammered.
She just shrugged. "Look, Grim: you're nice, but you can't dance worth a dollar. You know what I mean?"
I nodded, feeling incredibly alone in a crowd of a hundred students. She walked away, and I slammed my half-full paper cup into the trash and walked for the doors. I ended up walking into a tall, suited young man, instead.
The suited man, anachronistic, looked around with confusion bordering on betrayal. His suit was black with a red vest, a cape adorning his shoulders. Just as soon as I'd figured him some kind of prince, I realized it was Drake.
"Wow," I exclaimed, from a distance. "You really cleaned yourself up." His hair was no longer messy, his clothes were fresh, and his manner was refined. Even his skin looked better.
"Thank you," he said. "but why does everyone look like they switched clothes in a dark room?"
I was excited to hear him speaking straight dick, no longer faking an accent.
"It's a Cross-Dress Dance, for uh..." I tried to explain, but he looked uninterested. I also kind of didn't want to talk to him anyway, not after he stole my fries and pushed me.
"You look like you're enjoying that dress," he remarked.
"Maybe." I said.
"May I have this dance?"
I thought for a moment, and looked back at Lana, who was now dancing with a crowd of three guys from the eighth grade. She didn't look like she was gonna be talking to me later. I held my hand out. He took it, and his wasn't clammy – it was soft. I noticed, as we started to dance, that he was only two inches taller than me.
He danced elegantly, and yelled over the music with ease, "My family really is from Romania, y'know. I got to go last year, by boat. My dad took me."
"That's neat," I responded.
"I'm sorry about your fries, and for pushing you," he sighed.
I shrugged, and saw a suited Max behind me dancing with the suited Rita, staring at my tights and knowing Rita couldn't see him. He hadn't bothered to stick to the theme, but that might have been a safer play for him, given his size. People around here weren't civilized yet. I started to feel bad for kicking him, knowing I probably wasn't either. Then he winked at me, and my lungs flared with anger – I was ready to bash his nose in. Drake saw this, took my waist, and spun me around before leaning us over for a dive. He glanced at Max, who looked away. Then Drake pulled me back up and continued like nothing ever happened. I know we were just pretending, but he was treating me as if I was really his girlfriend. I was scared he'd think I was gross for enjoying it. Instead, he held me closer. It was nice. Nobody said anything, assuming that because we were dressed differently, that we were the opposite sex. I wasn't about to ruin that.

Everyone left the dance that night in a pretty great mood. Drake and I parted with a simple handshake, and he thanked me for the dance. I felt honored, and excited. Tony and Jules swung by on their way out to say good night, which was unusually nice of them. They must have figured that Drake's company was good company.
I walked outside, and had to keep myself from laughing at what I saw. The jocks of the school were lined up in dresses, smoking cigarettes against a brick wall. I whistled, and they threatened to beat me up, so I ran off towards home, my own dress flying behind me. Totally worth it.