Epilogue
Existentialism on Prom Night
FIVE MONTHS LATER
“Alright flat iron,” Dustin grimaced at the superheated rectangular death trap in his hand, “I need you to cooperate. This night will not be ruined by a subpar fringe,”
He’d already gotten dressed, done his eyeliner in a way that would make Gerard Way proud, and painted his nails in patterns of black and white. Now he just needed to lock down the hair and he’d look absolutely perfect.
After all, he only got one Senior Prom. Chloe would never forgive him if he half-assed it.
Just as he was about to clamp the flat iron down on his hair, someone banging on the bathroom door nearly scared him out of his skin.
It flew open a second later to reveal Chris standing there, hair trimmed and freshly bleached.
His muscled arms were crossed, and Dustin’s eyes were immediately drawn to the white pendant around his neck; the yang half of a matching yin yang necklace set they got as an early graduation gift.
“Boy if you don’t hurry your ass up! The Ying twins gotta make our grand prom entrance together, not twenty minutes apart!”
“Aren’t you supposed to make your grand entrance with Bailey? You know, your actual date?”
Chris pinched his nose bridge in frustration.
“You and I enter side by side, with Bailey on my arm and James on yours! We’ve been over this Zixuan. Jesus,”
“Well forgive me for not remembering your dumb ass rules Ziheng,” Dustin immediately fired back, his focus primarily on guiding the flat iron across his locks, “just give me like, five minutes!”
Chris rolled his eyes.
“Fine, but before I head downstairs, mom told me to give you this,”
Dustin looked at the mirror to see his twin flipping him off before smirking and slipping out the door.
Dustin just chuckled and finished his hair, finally appreciating his full appearance; a black blazer with lapels embroidered with gold to resemble patterns on a traditional hanfu.
In place of a tie, he wore his yin necklace that rested perfectly on top of the black mesh shirt beneath the blazer.
He wouldn’t be caught dead in a pair of slacks, so he opted for a brand new pair of skinny jeans instead.
Everything was flawless.
As he joined Chris at the bottom of the stairs, he was immediately assaulted by a camera flash.
His mother stood there with a wide smile, snapping photos on her digital camera like it was going out of style.
Chris was posing and flexing his arms, rolling up the sleeves of his red button-down just to show off more.
When he noticed Dustin standing there, he immediately pulled him closer so they could pose together.
After a gauntlet of twin poses (double peace sign, Mortal Kombat stances, the Dragon Ball Z fusion dance) it seemed like Charlotte was finally satisfied. Dustin’s eyes drifted to the family photo on the cabinet across the room, and he had to actively fight the grimace from overtaking his face.
His father.
He’d always imagined that Elliot would be there for the night of Senior Prom, but he hadn’t been allowed to set foot in the house since the night he hit Dustin.
Once Chris found out about it, he threatened to burn the man alive if he saw him again…
which Dustin knew was no idle threat, even if Charlotte took it as protective hyperbole.
Things were probably better this way, but he couldn’t quite shake the feeling of incompleteness gnawing at him.
“You boys look wonderful! Now, I know tonight’s very important for seniors, but I still expect both of you to be responsible,” she said, narrowing her eyes on the two of them, “no drugs, no drinking. And if you’re going to be… active, I expect you to at least be safe,”
Dustin buried his face in his palms, while Chris just smirked.
“Already ahead of you mom,” Chris replied, reaching into his shirt pocket and whipping out a roll of condoms wrapped in gold foil.
They dramatically unfolded before he flipped them back up into his hand and slid them into his pocket like a magician, “enough for us to split! Even though I’m pretty sure he bottoms,”
“brO!”
“CHRISTIAN!”
Chris laughed hysterically as Charlotte just shook her head in exasperation.
The doorbell rang, saving Dustin from drowning in awkwardness by giving him an excuse to leave the room for a second. As he opened it, he grinned from ear to ear.
Bailey stood there in her full getup; long, bleached blonde hair (shedding her long-standing iconic neon pink to match Chris on their special night) pulled up into an immaculate updo, dotted with sparkling pins and black and pink flowers.
Her dress looked like something straight out of the Victorian era; pink, slim at the waist and slightly ruffled, hanging off her exposed shoulders.
Black velvet opera gloves went up past her elbows, and she struggled to pull her heavy combat boots off before she stepped through the door.
“Damn, you look amazing Bails,” Dustin beamed, holding her arm to steady her as she finally got her shoes off.
“Thank you! So do you! I totally dig the jeans instead of boring old slacks,”
“There’s my girl,” Chris said as he came into the living room, lifting Bailey up and spinning her around, before dropping to one knee to present her corsage, “for you, my love,”
“Such a gentleman!” Bailey’s exaggerated southern belle voice warbled as she extended her wrist so he could slip it on.
“Bailey, darling, you are absolutely stunning!” Charlotte cooed, “when did you kids grow up? I still remember you three playing video games until the wee hours of the night, now look at you,”
Another knock came to the still open door, and Dustin turned to see James peeking his head inside, waving and smiling sweetly.
His hair was slicked back, and he was wearing a vintage plaid blazer with patches on the elbows; one apparently passed down to him from his grandfather.
A pair of designer sunglasses hid his eyes (because he was very likely stoned already), and he kicked off his pristine leather loafers as he came inside.
He looked Dustin up and down, before whistling.
“Damn baobei. 10/10, no notes,” his eyes drifted to Charlotte, who was standing there expectantly. He cleared his throat, straightened his posture, and pulled the sunglasses off, “oh, hello Mrs. Ying… Mrs. Fujiwara? Fujiwara-Ying, that’s it. Uh, hello!”
Charlotte looked at James for a long moment, before turning her gaze to Dustin. Her cold features melted into a grin.
“He’s adorable. He suits you, Dustin. Treat my son well young man. I graduated with your father, you know?”
James nodded furiously.
“Yes ma’am, of course!”
“Very good. Now, you boys should know… people might not react ideally to the two of you going to prom together,” Charlotte said somberly, “I’m sure you’re anticipating it. But I just don’t want this night to be ruined for you,”
James’s eyes twinkled as he stared at Dustin.
“I don’t think anything could ruin this night for me ma’am,”
Dustin locked eyes with James, before pulling the shorter boy into a tight hug.
“Same. Whatever hits come, we take them together, right?”
“Damn right,”
“That’s all that matters,” Charlotte nodded, regaining her composure before she allowed the tears welling up in her eyes to free themselves, “now. Isn’t it time for you all to be leaving? I know kids your age like to be fashionably late, but you don’t wanna miss all the fun,”
As if on cue, a car horn honked and the muffled sounds of Beyoncé’s “Get Me Bodied” could be heard thumping outside.
Dustin peered through the door and saw a hot pink stretch limo pulling up in front of the house, with Chloe sticking her head through the sunroof, her natural curls blowing in the night air as she winked.
Her dress was slim and form fitting, with cutouts in the sides that exposed her brown skin.
The whole thing looked like it was dipped in diamonds, catching the streetlight and sparkling like an earthbound star.
“Let’s go people!” she yelled, “we’ve got places to be!”
Dustin and Chris quickly kissed their mom on opposite cheeks before rushing over to the door and pulling on their shoes alongside their dates. Charlotte stood by the door as the group assembled in the limo, waving to them as they took off down the street.
“This is gonna be the best night ever,” Chris said, stealing James’s sunglasses and popping them on, “I’m so fucking ready for this,”
“It damn well better be. I did not slave away on prom committee just for it to be anything less than perfect,” Chloe retorted, her eyes locking onto Dustin’s fringe, “excellent work Fall Out Boy. Your hair looks amazing,”
Dustin dramatically flipped it, making everyone laugh.
As the limo headed into town, the group joked and talked and laughed, ready to have what Dustin hoped would be the best night of their lives.
They didn’t notice the black car with tinted windows tailing them for a few blocks, nor did they notice when it turned off down a side street before they arrived at the civic center…
They’d be able to enjoy their prom, their graduation, and maybe even their summer break.
But the Elemasters would need to be called back into service eventually...
Hell could only wait for so long.