So I think this ship is greatly under-appreciated, since it's probably, very nearly canon. It's great, cute, fluffy as hell.

And I probably screwed it up greatly! But anyway, enjoy, since I really needed to get this out my system!

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It was supposed to be a night of happiness; a night of fun, dancing, food, and memories. Or at least, that's what the flyer advertised. One would think that the four years of waiting for the chance to attend senior prom would have at least amounted to something special. After hearing all the talk, this shindig was kind of a let-down, and it had only been a half-hour.

The blond played with the end of his scarlet tie, staring off into the corner of the room. Although, no one could really tell where he was looking since the dark pair of aviators that were practically glued to his face obscured the red irises behind them. He and two others sat at a round table, facing the crowd of teenagers who were presently on the dance floor. He was just about a minute away from knocking out the incompetent DJ, who seemed content with playing only the crappiest of mainstream pop, and playing some real tunes.

"Dave, you gonna finish that?" John leaned over and poked at the blond's black suit-jacket. Dave glanced at the food on his plate that had been left completely untouched. He shook his head.

"Food's shitty anyway." As his bro inhaled what looked like some sort of poor excuse for steak, Dave found his eyes flitting back from the wall to the girl across from him. She stared back with an amused expression.

"What is it, Lalonde?" He raised an annoyed eyebrow. The girl only smirked and shook her head, bobbing her golden, pinned-up hair. Her eyes held a mischievous gleam that reminded Dave of Egbert whenever he thought he had pulled a fantastic prank. But he knew exactly what she was implying, and it made him only more nervous, though not like he would show it. Striders don't lose their cool.

When John finally finished eating he looked around the hotel ballroom excitedly. "Hey guys, I thought Jade was supposed to be here by now?"

Rose sat up a little straighter, glancing at Dave once before answering. "She texted me ten minutes ago. Due to unforeseen car troubles, she had to get a ride with her grandfather. She should be here soon." Her smirk only irritated Dave further.

Unlike Rose, however, John had no idea why his best friend was being so moody. He poked him again.

"Hey, Dave, why don't you try getting the DJ to let you have a go?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Better than sitting here, I guess." Dave shrugged and left his friends. He moved between the jumping throng of his classmates with quick agility. When he finally reached the DJ, he made a gesture with his fist and thumb, telling him to leave. By the looks of the man behind the equipment, he really didn't want to be there anyway. He nodded once, slid off his headphones, and handed them to the blond.

Nearly twenty minutes into Dave's shift, everyone was on the dance floor. No one could escape Strider's sick beats; even John, with his big, goofy grin, had pulled Rose with him and were now enjoying the music. The first hour of the big night was coming to a close as a lone straggler strode through the open doorway to the ballroom. Even through the brightly flashing lights, Dave recognized the form. He watched the figure look around the room in anxiety and confusion. Quickly, Dave popped in his own mix CD, which he had brought with him should such a situation occur, and left his post.

He tapped on the newcomer's bare shoulder from behind. She turned around quickly and beamed when she recognized her friend.

"Dave! Hey!" She screamed over the booming bass. She threw her arms around the shoulders of the taller male. He returned the gesture fondly, keeping his hands at the middle of her back, which he found to also be bare. She stepped back. "Oh, look at you! You are so handsome!" She poked at the single white rose on his suit jacket. Dave gave a slight smile in return.

"You look great, Harley."

He took a minute to examine from behind his shades her dark hair, curled into tight ringlets that framed her face. He allowed only the barest hint of a smirk as he observed that she still kept on her wide, round glasses. The dress she wore was unbelievable. It was black with green accents, and the whole thing sparkled like stars. It was like she was wearing an entire galaxy. Dave flushed and straightened up when he realized he had taken too long to admire the low neckline of the dress. He looked back up into Jade's emerald eyes. She, too, had a slight flush to her cheeks. Or was that her makeup?

"Um, so where are John and Rose?" Jade turned back to the crowd.

"They're in there somewhere. John actually got Rose to dance with him." He was thankful for a subject change, though it did nothing to calm his nerves.

Jade brought her manicured hand to her face in surprise. "He didn't! Rose, dancing?"

Dave pointed to a couple in the back. Sure enough, a skinny blonde in an orange-gold dress was being whirled about by the bespectacled dork in gray and blue. Jade laughed.

"So why haven't you joined in yet?"

"Been busy." Dave nodded towards the unmanned DJ station. Jade laughed.

"I should have known!" She looked back her friends. "Well, if you're busy, I guess I'll go join them." She gave a parting smile to Dave before leaving to navigate the anarchy that was dancing, hormonal teenagers. Dave stood for a moment, watching her go. He cursed himself.

Well, that sure was fucking smooth. "Get it together, Strider." He rubbed the back of his neck as the song was ending, cueing his return to the station.

Three songs later, Dave checked up on his friends. John and Rose were now dancing separately, with Jade, swaying and jumping to Dave's beat. As the current song faded out, he pulled out the next track, and turned on the microphone.

"Guys, time to wind down a bit, let Strider set the mood." Dave put in the CD and immediately a softer melody flowed from the speakers at a slower tempo. Quickly, the crowd of kids shifted, leaving only half as many on the dance floor. Dave left to sit with his friends, who were smiling, tired.

Dave looked over at his best friend and gave him a nudge. John punched Dave playfully back then stood up.

"Rose Lalonde, would you care to join me for this dance?" John smiled and extended his hand. Rose laughed lightly at the show and looked back at Dave. Before she took John's hand, she kicked Strider's leg with her heel. Dave winced but he got the hint.

As Jade held her head in her hand, propping her elbow on the table, Dave took her free hand from across the table. Jade's eyes widened and her face was a deep pink.

"Dave, what...?"

Dave stood up and walked, holding her hand, until he was facing her. Then he took out a little plastic box from his pocket, and presented it to her. It was a corsage; white flowers matching the one on his jacket. Dave leaned down, now eye to eye with the intensely blushing girl. Time to turn on the Strider charm.

"I hoped to spend this night with a beautiful girl, and it looks like I've found one. May I have this dance, Jade?" Dave smiled, his eyes bright and hopeful behind dark glasses. Jade forced her mouth closed. She could count the number of times she had actually seen Dave smile on one hand.

But she shook her head, making Dave's smile falter.

"Only on one condition." Jade slipped her hand from Dave's and slowly removed the aviators. Now red eyes were fully exposed, making Strider feel incredibly vulnerable. Jade only beamed. She took the corsage and slipped it on her wrist.

"Now, you may." With her reply, Dave resumed possession of Jade's hands in his and gently lead her to an empty section of the dance floor. Both teens equally nervous, Dave left his hands on her waist, and Jade's arms hooked loosely around his neck. There was still some distance between them, but as the song continued, the two could only smile softly at each other. They swayed, both getting used to each other's hold. Then the song changed. It was an equally as slow tune, but the words more passionate, a bit more intimate.

After the first few seconds of the new song, Jade's smile dropped abruptly. Dave reciprocated the action and stopped them.

"Why now?" Jade asked. She honestly looked like she was on the verge of tears.

Alarmed and confused, Dave replied, "Because I had this idea it was going to be all romantic and shit. What's the matter?" He really wished he had his shades. "Shit, you don't feel the same."

Jade smiled and shook her head quickly. "No, it's not that at all. Dave, I really like you. I'm so happy right now." She beamed and leaned into him. His arms tightened around her waist. "It's just," she spoke into his shoulder, "I thought you were avoiding me for the longest time!"

Dave sighed. "No, that was just me losing my cool around you. That's what you did to me, Jade. You broke it. You broke my cool." He could feel the girl giggle. "What?"

"You keep saying my name. You rarely ever say my first name."

"Jade. I love your name. It's perfect." She laughed again.

"You're such a dork." She pulled back and looked at the boy in her arms.

"I really am a dork. It is me. And you still want to go out with me?" He pressed his forehead against hers. The girl blushed and giggled once more.

"Of course, I do."

As the song came to an end, the couple spun slowly one last time. They broke apart, both grinning. Jade suppressed another giggle and turned to look at their friends. John and Rose were watching them; John looked surprised but happy, while Rose only gave them an approving nod and smirk. Dave let Jade lead them back to the table. When the two of them sat down, their hands were still intertwined. It wasn't until the other kids started to get loud that Dave was reminded of his new job.

"I guess I'll see you guys in a bit." Replacing his shades back over his bright eyes, Dave gave Jade's hand one last squeeze before letting it go completely. As he shuffled over to the crowd, Rose pulled on his sleeve.

"It was about time. You two look simply adorable together."

"Shut up. And thanks."

The rest of the evening went smoothly. Dave played a mix of his own music and a bunch more club mixes for the next hour or so, until the original DJ returned, mostly drunk. Dave just left him a bunch of tracks to put in before returning to his friends. He danced with Jade three more times, until their group started to feel exhausted.

Together, they left the prom-Dave and Jade in his car, John and Rose in their own- around eleven for John's house. A large cake that read "PROM" on it-which made Egbert gag-was waiting for them in the kitchen. Mostly the girls delved into post-prom gossip as the boys played video games. But Dave and Jade were never far apart from each other.

When the time came for everyone to leave, Dave offered to drive Jade home, who quickly accepted. It was a short ride over, one that was spent in tired, happy silence, their hands interlocked, resting on the middle console. When he pulled into her driveway, Jade turned to him and beamed, her cheeks now sore from the ridiculous giggling all night. Dave smiled, too. He honestly hadn't smiled quite this much in a while, and it felt really nice.

"Jade, I know I'm gonna sound like a creep 'cause you only just accepted to go out with me, but you really mean a lot to me." Dave took off his glasses. "When I'm with you, I feel...free. You're always so happy and excited about life, while I've been fucking hiding behind these glasses my entire life."

"Dave! I've always admired you for that, though. You're brave, since you never let anything get to you, or it doesn't look like it, anyway. And you're super talented!" She squeezed his hand. "Thank you so much, Dave. For the best night of my life!" She leaned in and planted a kiss on his cheek. Dave didn't jump but he was slightly shocked.

Embarrassed, Jade hopped out of the car and bounced up the front steps. In mere seconds, Dave was right behind her. She stopped opening the door and looked right at him, eyebrows raised. She could now see his ruby red eyes shining beneath the porch light. And they stared right back into hers.

"You didn't let me say goodnight." With a gentle hand, Dave held Jade's face. He leaned in slow enough to give her the opportunity to pull away and tell him he's going too fast. But she didn't. She had been waiting five years for this. She closed the gap, and her soft lips met his. After a few seconds, they pulled back, flushed as red as Dave's eyes.

"Goodnight, Dave." She gave him one last smile before heading inside.

"Night, Harley." He smirked and let her go. She closed the door, and Dave chuckled when he heard her emit a happy squeal.

When Dave got home, Bro was sitting on the couch with his laptop. "Hey." Dave merely waved as he passed him, on his way to his room.

"How was prom, li'l man?"

Dave turned to look at him and gave him a thumbs-up. Bro returned the gesture and the rest was silence.

Alone in his room, Dave reread the most recent chat that was still up.

GG: i can't wait to see you there! :)

TG: me neither

TG: its going to be sick

TG: this is what high school kids wait for right

TG: supposed to be the greatest thing or some shit

GG: are you going to dance dave?

TG: yeah why not

TG: its a dance, right?

TG: think you can handle these moves?

GG: we'll just have to see :D

"Yeah, we will." Dave said aloud. He removed his shades again and smiled, allowing his nerves to finally subside, because, hell yes, he just got the girl he's liked since he was thirteen. He agreed with this past self; prom was most definitely the greatest thing.

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Thank you for reading! Please leave a review, it really does help me in knowing what you guys want to see from my writing or what I can improve on! Don't be afraid to point out blatant mistakes; I'm always trying to catch them!