Patron Saints of Homecoming

Chapter 18

"We've been looking for you guys everywhere!" Eugene said, waving to them from the entrance. He wore an overly ornate tuxedo and Teddy trailed not far behind, wearing his red hoodie underneath a more casual suit.

"You guys are late," Gerard said. He sipped on his juice, seemingly deciding whether he wanted to comment further. "Nice corsages, by the way."

Eugene proudly looked down at the white carnation on his suit while Teddy quickly crushed the flower in his hand, letting the petals fall to the floor. "My aunt drove us here and she was late because she ordered a whole basket of flowers! They're in her car but I can go get them so we can all match."

He took off to collect the box before any of them could say anything. Gerard nudged Teddy. "His aunt drove you?"

"She insisted," Teddy grumbled. "I don't want to hear it, especially from you."

Gerard's grin doubled. "But--"

"Leave him alone," Lily said, exchanging knowing looks with Jimmy. Jimmy shrugged, pretending he didn't know what they were talking about.

Teddy was looking anywhere but his smug club members before his stare lingered on Jimmy's hair and darted to Lily's. He smirked, likely thrilled to have something else scandalous to talk about aside from himself. "Oh good, you two are finally dating." Lily startled and Jimmy's hand automatically went up to smooth down his hair. Gerard and Teddy were the ones exchanging looks now.

"About time," a voice said behind Jimmy. He whirled around to see Gray doing his usual jumpscare and appearing by Jimmy's side out of thin air. Their eyes met and for once, it wasn't immediate, mutual hatred. Gray had no reason to attack Jimmy and knowing exactly what happened to Gray, Jimmy couldn't bring himself to judge the guy. He almost had a type of pity, but Gray's subtle, mirthless smile didn't invite any.

Gray turned around and sighed at someone in the crowd. "I told him not to get caught up in the middle of the floor."

Of course that "him" was Stephen, looking lost amidst the cloud of students dancing to the song blaring from the speakers. He looked strange, trying to walk and dance away at the same time. Lily came to his rescue, and he looked relieved as she directed him to the rest of the group.

"Hi guys!" he said brightly, leaving Lily's hold and gravitating to Gray's. "Everyone's here." He looked around. "Actually, where's Eugene?"

"Right here--oof!" Eugene, knocking into someone, dropping the basket of corsages he'd been holding. Teddy immediately sprinted to his aid, picking the flowers off the floor and telling the boy who'd pushed Eugene to watch where he was going.

Still kneeling on the floor, Eugene thanked Teddy for his help and Teddy squinted, wordless. Eugene noticed the lack of white carnation on Teddy's lapel. "Did you lose yours?" he asked. Teddy hesitated but Eugene cut him off. "It's okay, I have extra."

They got up and Eugene made several ill-fated attempts to pin a new corsage to Teddy's suit, fumbling with the pin's mechanics while Teddy stood there, looking utterly mortified. They were situated right where they blocked the flow of traffic the most, and while Eugene didn't seem to notice anything was wrong, Teddy's hackles rose each second until he shoved Eugene away.

"I-I was just figuring it out," Eugene stuttered, his embarrassment now on par with Teddy's.

"It's not that big a deal," Teddy tried. "I don't mind if you can't do it."

Eugene shook his head. "My aunt taught me how, I just need to remember."

"Maybe we should let Lily do this," Teddy forced out.