Delinquent - L.S.

Twenty

It was prom day and, as if they were trying to make up for tearing Harry away from his mother, Des and Cate decided to let him go to the dance with Cheryl. They were even letting him go to her flat to get ready together. The trio was standing in the front yard, Harry with his suit draped over his arm and his phone in his hand as he texted Cheryl to hurry.

"You know the rules, straight home after prom," Des said sternly, arms crossed over his chest.

Harry just rolled his eyes, huffing loudly. "I know," he muttered.

"Make sure you take lots of pictures so I can see you all dressed up, you're going to look so handsome!" Cate cooed. She wrapped an arm around Harry to pull him into a warm side hug.

Harry gave the blonde a gentle squeeze in return, chuckling lightly. "I will," he assured her. Glancing at his father, he forced a smile and added, "Thanks for letting me go."

"Have fun," Des said with a curt nod.

-

Harry was sitting on the edge of Cheryl's bed, they'd been chatting while she did her makeup. She'd gotten her hair professionally done (which Harry accompanied her to and found to be extremely boring). He was humming softly and swinging his legs back and forth.

Cheryl closed her mascara tube and zipped up her makeup bag. Turning around, she said, "Ready to put in your suit? I want to see you in it!"

Harry nodded and got to his feet, grabbing the garment bag and shuffling into the bathroom to change. He took a while; it was a struggle to perfect his look. The entire suit was solid black; black button up, thin black tie, black jacket, black pants, featuring a small white pocket square. Once he was finally satisfied, he walked back out into her bedroom.

"Ah!" she squealed loudly. "I love it!"

Harry laughed softly and struck a little pose before moving to grab his dress shows off the floor. "Let me see your dress now," he ordered, setting to work untying the laces.

Cheryl quickly got to her feet and skipped into the bathroom, grabbing a hanging garment bag off her closet door.Harry busied himself by pulling on his shoes and wiping off any specs of dirt from the smooth leather. It only took a moment for the girl to reappear, clad in her gown. The dress was red, a tight and long strapless dress with an open back and slight lace detailing. She did a little twirl, smoothing the material over her stomach and hips while Harry nodded approvingly.

"It looks so good, Cheryl. Really, you look beautiful. Everyone's going to be drooling over you all night," Harry told her with a kind smile.

"Just when they think they've gotten used to how smoking hot I am, then boom!" she exclaimed. Cheryl poked her leg out, revealing a deep slit in the dress, grinning. "I turn it up another notch."

Harry laughed, shaking his head in awe. "You're really something else, Cheryl," he grinned.

Cheryl's face softened and she reached out to brush a fleck of fuzz off of Harry's shoulder. "In all seriousness, my self-absorption aside, you really look amazing. You'll be turning heads all night, Har," she said sweetly, a genuine twinkle in her eyes as she smiled up at Harry.

"Thanks Cheryl, it means a lot."

-

The ballroom was decorated beautifully, perfectly fitting the occasion. People were everywhere, dancing and laughing and smiling together. It seemed as though, for one night, there were no cliques or divisions in power amongst the students. Everyone was just having fun.