Sarah's stomach gave a lurch as they pulled into the big reception hall that was hosting prom night. She could hear the bass thumping from inside, and see the reflections of brightly colored lights flashing too. Finn's refinished car, with its thundering engine and shiny chrome, attracted some curious glances as he parked. Sarah opened her door and stepped out into the warm night. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on the sky while Finn hustled around the car.

Sarah adjusted her clutch with the grinning skull, feeling the cool weight of her bracelet as she walked. She felt Finn put his large, warm hand on the small of her back, leading her as they walked together toward the entrance. The noise and laughter from inside the venue grew louder with each step.

Once they entered the ballroom, Sarah had to stop and blink. Nowhere felt safe to rest her eyes, the whole room was covered with twinkling lights and tinsel decorations that reflected the flashing lights. A few couples danced on the dance floor, their huddled movements contrasting with a few circles of people watching a single performer. Sarah couldn't help but wince and twitch at the blaring noise.

Finn led her to a table where Alexa and Jill were already seated. They looked stunning in their own dresses, and Sarah felt the knot in her stomach loosening up. They waved as soon as they saw Sarah and Finn come up and scooted over to make room.

"You look awesome!" exclaimed Jill.

"She does," agreed Finn. "Hey, I'm going to grab some food, want anything?"

"Sure, whatever you get," said Sarah, gritting her teeth at the thought of putting anything into her stomach. As soon as Finn left, she sat down and put her head on the table, resisting the urge to cover her ears.

"You ok?" asked Alexa as she reached out to rub Sarah's back. "I thought the noise thing was better?"

"No," said Sarah. "It's been getting worse."

"And the lights?"

"Worse."

"Yikes, this won't be good tonight, will it?"

"Worse."

"Ok then," laughed Alexa, shaking her bottle of water. "Can I help? Water? Tylenol maybe?"

"Never helped before," said Sarah into the table. "I'll be fine. I've faked it before, I can do it tonight."

"Something stronger? I'm pretty sure that was pot I smelled out by the parking lot," chimed in Jill. "They say it does wonders for headaches and migraines. Of course, they kinda say it does wonders for everything, but it's worth a try."

"Maybe not," said Alexa when Sarah didn't answer. "I don't think tonight would be the right night for that sort of first."

Finn came and sat down, and Sarah could hear a clink as he set two plates down on the little table. She put her head up and saw that he'd heaped both plates high with finger foods. He'd set one plate with meatballs, little quiche thingies, and other fried foods in front of her, and his other plate had baby carrots, strawberries, melon, grapes, and other fruits piled up. He sat right in close next to her, so that their hips were touching, and helped himself to a shrimp from her plate. He gestured to Jill and Alexa too, offering them something to eat.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"I skipped the bread," he said, indicating the plates. "Dig in, everything is bite-sized, so we can all share."

The other two girls refused, but Sarah's nostrils flared at the aroma of the meat in front of her, and she decided to see if something solid would settle her stomach. If she was lucky, it would settle her nerves too. The little quiches were just small enough to put a whole one in her mouth, and she ignored the driving music for a moment while she concentrated on how the flaky pastry and warm egg dissolved on her tongue. She followed it up with grapes, then strawberries, and then the meatballs. She even made Finn grab a couple more plates as they demolished what he'd already brought.

Alexa and Jill had gotten up and joined one of the circles of people, bouncing to the beat and watching a boy do something technical on the ground that involved a lot of spinning. Sarah ate, enjoying being able to focus on something pleasant while the noise hammered in on her. Even with her attention on the plates in front of her, Sarah still kept an eye on the people dancing. Some couples looked like they were trying to crawl inside each other, holding their entire bodies so closely together that Sarah wondered how they stayed balanced and upright. Others were standing at the very end of their arm's reach, hands on shoulders and hips and rocking side to side with the beat. There were even a few people at the edge of the dance floor who were actually dancing. At least they were moving through complicated steps and coordinated motions that Sarah considered dancing, instead of just sorta swaying to the beat.

She was looking around, trying to ignore the glaring lights when the thumping dance beat faded, replaced by the strumming guitar of a song that Sarah actually recognized. Finn rolled his neck, making little cracking noises that Sarah could hear under the music. He stood up and held a hand out to Sarah.

"Dance with me?" he asked.

She just nodded, took his hand, and let him help her stand up. That last carrot was sticking in her throat a bit, making it hard to speak. He led her out to the edge of the dance floor to join all the other couples that were filling up the space. She froze, not knowing where to put her hands, or where to look. She closed her eyes again and felt her back pull straight and rigid. Finn reached out, taking her right hand in his and pulling her around. His other hand reached under her left arm and lifted up until his hand was behind her shoulder. She was still stiff, but he pulled and pushed her to the sound of the music, and after a moment she figured out how to follow.

The two of them rocked and spun while the music went on. The song faded, followed by another slow song, and they kept dancing. Finn had lowered his hands, releasing his hold when the song ended, but when Sarah hadn't pulled away or said anything he took her hands again and they resumed their slow motion. She was dancing, and she made herself smile as she began to realize why people liked this. The same thing happened when a third slow song came on, Finn giving her the option to leave and gently resuming their dance when she didn't go.

But after that third song faded, a crash of chords and drums hammered the dance floors. Standing right between all the speakers, Sarah felt like something had struck her, and she dropped down to the ground, holding her ears. She crouched there for a few repetitions of the beat while ignoring whatever Finn was saying as he pulled at her arms. She could see the strobing lights and lasers through her clenched eyes too and wished she could cover them along with her ears.

She gasped, and gasped again, forcing herself to breathe. Finally, she was able to open her eyes just enough to see the widening circle around her, and she stood and stumbled off the floor, breaking into a run once she was past all the other dancers. She didn't stop until she got back outside in the warm air. She could still hear the music, but the walls and doors kept it muffled. Sarah wiped her eyes, counting quietly until she could catch her breath.