chocolate 26. nostalgia
Author: hi_falootin
Story: Second Chances
Prompt: Chocolate 26. nostalgia
Rating: PG
Word count: 1138
Notes: Darcy and Mike before senior prommmm. Same night as referenced in Snapshot.
"Have you been...scrapbooking?" Mike asks, suspicious.
"Oh no," Darcy says. "God, no. I'm just organizing pictures. It's totally different. "
"Don't look!" Darcy calls, from the other side of the door frame.
Then, with a dramatic flourish, she steps into the room and spins around before stopping to pose: one hand on her hip and the other stretched above her head. "Okay, now you can look."
Mike uncovers his eyes. "Wow," he says. "That dress is...really orange, isn't it?"
Darcy wrinkles her nose, letting her arms fall down to her sides. "Would it kill you to say something nice? I paid good money for this dress."
"I thought you got it at TJ Maxx."
"I paid eighteen dollars of very good money." She tugs at the neckline of her dress. In the bathroom, she noted the deep V plunged so low that from a certain angle, she could even see the bottoms of her breasts.
That was cool. That was the closest she was going to get to cleavage.
"Sorry, Darce," Mike says. He sighs. "You do look nice. Really."
"Do I look like a slutty senior? Because what I really want is to look like a slutty senior."
"I don't know. Let's see your slutty face."
Darcy purses her lips, hooks a finger in her mouth and casts her eyes skyward.
Mike gives her a solemn thumbs up.
"Come on," Darcy says, "I don't even get a laugh?"
He smiles, but it looks forced. "Sorry. Guess I'm not in the best of moods."
"Yeah, I noticed." She reaches out to adjust his tie; less because it's actually crooked, and more because she's unsure what to say. She tightens the knot in the blue silk and moved to brush some invisible dust off the lapel of his jacket.
"I'm sorry," he says quietly.
Darcy sighs. "I just want to see you get excited about something again."
"I know. I'm sorry."
She shakes her head. "Don't apologize. Just tell me you'll try to have fun."
"I will."
She tries to grin, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "It's our senior prom!"
"Hurray!" It's not genuinely enthusiastic, but at least it's good-natured. Darcy decides she'll give him an A for effort.
"How long until we're supposed to pick up Levee?"
Mike checks his watch. "Little over twenty minutes."
"Can I show you something then?"
"Show me what?"
In answer, Darcy walks over to her desk and pulls open the top drawer. "Something I've been working on." She takes out a blue, cloth-covered binder and holds it out towards him.
"Have you been...scrapbooking?" Mike asks, suspicious.
"Oh no," Darcy says. "God, no. I'm just organizing pictures. It's totally different. Come on! Let's look at them."
She plops down on her unmade bed. Mike smooths his hands over his pants and takes a seat beside her. "How far back do these go?"
"Oh, just seventh grade and up. I have enough of the earlier stuff for a whole 'nother album, but I kind of got blinded by all the 90s fashion. Do you remember me wearing t-shirts with giant rhinestones? Cause I was wearing t-shirts with giant rhinestones. And don't get me started on the leggings..." She shakes her head, then flips the album open to the first page. "Anyway, here."
"Oh, these were from that field trip to Yosemite!" Mike turns the page. "You took a lot of pictures of our sneakers, didn't you?"
"It was my artsy phase or something. Taking pictures of our feet..." She frowns at one of the photos. "Wonder why we didn't have hiking boots like everyone else."
"Clearly, we were fashion rebels," Mike says. He points out a photograph of himself and Darcy sitting at a picnic table and smiling at the camera. She's wearing a red baseball cap turned backwards.
That was not a good look. That was almost as bad as the rhinestones. Darcy covers the photo with her hand. "I hate that one. I look like a boy."
"Why'd you keep it, then?"
"Cause it's a nice picture of you with your braces! And look-" Darcy points to the next one over. "Further down the table, there's Levee, giving her soup the death glare."
Mike laughs. "Oh shit, I barely recognized her."
"Oh, you wanna talk about barely recognize..." Darcy reaches over to flip a couple of pages before she finds what she's looking for. Then she all but shoves the album under Mike's nose, "Look at that!"
Mike leans over to look at the photograph, bringing his nose centimeters away from the page's plastic sheathing. He squints at it, then suddenly claps a hand to his mouth. "No!"
"Yes!' Darcy shrieks. She jabs at the album with her index finger. "That's Rayn!" She'd gone through a bit of shock followed by peals of laughter when she'd uncovered that photo herself. It shouldn't have been a funny picture-just a thirteen-year-old Rayn, hunched down on some cement steps, maybe a little peeved to have a camera in his face, but not enough to really show it. It was...maybe mean to laugh.
Mike is still shaking his head, fingers pressed to his lips like he's trying not to smile. "I seriously don't remember-"
"I know! Me neither!" Darcy wipes a knuckle under one of her eyes. "Levee was so insistent that he used to be hella, uh, I think 'homely' was the word she used-"
"And we argued with her about it!" Mike wipes his hands down his face. " Oh, man. She is so not allowed to see this picture. I hate it when she's right."
"Well, it wasn't..." Darcy wracks her brain for something nice to say about the photo. "It was...just an awkward phase, really..."
Mike leans his chin on his hand, half-smiling, half-not. "I wish he still looked like this."
"Don't be a dick." Darcy jabs his shin with the toe of her shoe.
"I'm not being a dick!"
"Don't be sulky either." She glances at the clock on her dresser, the one she always forgets is there. "It's almost time to go. Your time to be sulky is up, dude."
Mike makes a face. "Can't we just stay here and look at your photos? We're not even through the middle school part!"
"No," Darcy says. She snatches the binder away. "We are all dressed up and we are going to prom. We'll have plenty of time to look at our awkward teenage years after we've spent the night dancing our asses off."
"Don't you think we're still kind of awkward?"
"Speak for yourself," Darcy says. "I'm a smooth operator. And I heard tell that they always play the Time Warp at senior prom, so if we get there late for some reason and we miss it, I'm warning you now-I may be forced to cut a bitch.
"Now smile," she says, grabbing his hands to pull him to his feet. "Now, let's go."
I always think, "Wow, these guys really like to leave stuff left unsaid" :O And "This will eventually all make sense, I promise."
and lol poor Rayn. STOP LAUGHING, DARCY.
Story: Second Chances
Prompt: Chocolate 26. nostalgia
Rating: PG
Word count: 1138
Notes: Darcy and Mike before senior prommmm. Same night as referenced in Snapshot.
"Have you been...scrapbooking?" Mike asks, suspicious.
"Oh no," Darcy says. "God, no. I'm just organizing pictures. It's totally different. "
"Don't look!" Darcy calls, from the other side of the door frame.
Then, with a dramatic flourish, she steps into the room and spins around before stopping to pose: one hand on her hip and the other stretched above her head. "Okay, now you can look."
Mike uncovers his eyes. "Wow," he says. "That dress is...really orange, isn't it?"
Darcy wrinkles her nose, letting her arms fall down to her sides. "Would it kill you to say something nice? I paid good money for this dress."
"I thought you got it at TJ Maxx."
"I paid eighteen dollars of very good money." She tugs at the neckline of her dress. In the bathroom, she noted the deep V plunged so low that from a certain angle, she could even see the bottoms of her breasts.
That was cool. That was the closest she was going to get to cleavage.
"Sorry, Darce," Mike says. He sighs. "You do look nice. Really."
"Do I look like a slutty senior? Because what I really want is to look like a slutty senior."
"I don't know. Let's see your slutty face."
Darcy purses her lips, hooks a finger in her mouth and casts her eyes skyward.
Mike gives her a solemn thumbs up.
"Come on," Darcy says, "I don't even get a laugh?"
He smiles, but it looks forced. "Sorry. Guess I'm not in the best of moods."
"Yeah, I noticed." She reaches out to adjust his tie; less because it's actually crooked, and more because she's unsure what to say. She tightens the knot in the blue silk and moved to brush some invisible dust off the lapel of his jacket.
"I'm sorry," he says quietly.
Darcy sighs. "I just want to see you get excited about something again."
"I know. I'm sorry."
She shakes her head. "Don't apologize. Just tell me you'll try to have fun."
"I will."
She tries to grin, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "It's our senior prom!"
"Hurray!" It's not genuinely enthusiastic, but at least it's good-natured. Darcy decides she'll give him an A for effort.
"How long until we're supposed to pick up Levee?"
Mike checks his watch. "Little over twenty minutes."
"Can I show you something then?"
"Show me what?"
In answer, Darcy walks over to her desk and pulls open the top drawer. "Something I've been working on." She takes out a blue, cloth-covered binder and holds it out towards him.
"Have you been...scrapbooking?" Mike asks, suspicious.
"Oh no," Darcy says. "God, no. I'm just organizing pictures. It's totally different. Come on! Let's look at them."
She plops down on her unmade bed. Mike smooths his hands over his pants and takes a seat beside her. "How far back do these go?"
"Oh, just seventh grade and up. I have enough of the earlier stuff for a whole 'nother album, but I kind of got blinded by all the 90s fashion. Do you remember me wearing t-shirts with giant rhinestones? Cause I was wearing t-shirts with giant rhinestones. And don't get me started on the leggings..." She shakes her head, then flips the album open to the first page. "Anyway, here."
"Oh, these were from that field trip to Yosemite!" Mike turns the page. "You took a lot of pictures of our sneakers, didn't you?"
"It was my artsy phase or something. Taking pictures of our feet..." She frowns at one of the photos. "Wonder why we didn't have hiking boots like everyone else."
"Clearly, we were fashion rebels," Mike says. He points out a photograph of himself and Darcy sitting at a picnic table and smiling at the camera. She's wearing a red baseball cap turned backwards.
That was not a good look. That was almost as bad as the rhinestones. Darcy covers the photo with her hand. "I hate that one. I look like a boy."
"Why'd you keep it, then?"
"Cause it's a nice picture of you with your braces! And look-" Darcy points to the next one over. "Further down the table, there's Levee, giving her soup the death glare."
Mike laughs. "Oh shit, I barely recognized her."
"Oh, you wanna talk about barely recognize..." Darcy reaches over to flip a couple of pages before she finds what she's looking for. Then she all but shoves the album under Mike's nose, "Look at that!"
Mike leans over to look at the photograph, bringing his nose centimeters away from the page's plastic sheathing. He squints at it, then suddenly claps a hand to his mouth. "No!"
"Yes!' Darcy shrieks. She jabs at the album with her index finger. "That's Rayn!" She'd gone through a bit of shock followed by peals of laughter when she'd uncovered that photo herself. It shouldn't have been a funny picture-just a thirteen-year-old Rayn, hunched down on some cement steps, maybe a little peeved to have a camera in his face, but not enough to really show it. It was...maybe mean to laugh.
Mike is still shaking his head, fingers pressed to his lips like he's trying not to smile. "I seriously don't remember-"
"I know! Me neither!" Darcy wipes a knuckle under one of her eyes. "Levee was so insistent that he used to be hella, uh, I think 'homely' was the word she used-"
"And we argued with her about it!" Mike wipes his hands down his face. " Oh, man. She is so not allowed to see this picture. I hate it when she's right."
"Well, it wasn't..." Darcy wracks her brain for something nice to say about the photo. "It was...just an awkward phase, really..."
Mike leans his chin on his hand, half-smiling, half-not. "I wish he still looked like this."
"Don't be a dick." Darcy jabs his shin with the toe of her shoe.
"I'm not being a dick!"
"Don't be sulky either." She glances at the clock on her dresser, the one she always forgets is there. "It's almost time to go. Your time to be sulky is up, dude."
Mike makes a face. "Can't we just stay here and look at your photos? We're not even through the middle school part!"
"No," Darcy says. She snatches the binder away. "We are all dressed up and we are going to prom. We'll have plenty of time to look at our awkward teenage years after we've spent the night dancing our asses off."
"Don't you think we're still kind of awkward?"
"Speak for yourself," Darcy says. "I'm a smooth operator. And I heard tell that they always play the Time Warp at senior prom, so if we get there late for some reason and we miss it, I'm warning you now-I may be forced to cut a bitch.
"Now smile," she says, grabbing his hands to pull him to his feet. "Now, let's go."
I always think, "Wow, these guys really like to leave stuff left unsaid" :O And "This will eventually all make sense, I promise."
and lol poor Rayn. STOP LAUGHING, DARCY.