The floor around the small garden broke open and more trees began to grow up through the cracks. The floor turned to soft, springy grass under everyone’s feet. More teens screamed, cried out in surprise, and others cried. Trick and Naomi only looked on resolutely as the new trees grew to full height. The fae came happily danced around the new foliage.

Out of the shadows of the new trees came a handsome creature. It had the body of an elk with the torso and head of a man, crowned with a beautiful set of antlers. He looked at the groups dancers and spoke to them with deep, musical voice.

“Well met! The time has come for another trial. This time it will be a dance of passion! The seductive movement of the tango! Once more, it is required that each society within this gathering send forth two of their own to perform for the safety of their people. The two couples who fail to please us will be taken, along with all their friends and society!”

What a speech, Trick thought to himself.

The fae clustered around the magnificent creature as he withdrew back into the shadows of the trees. They all grew in size became visible to everyone for who and what they were. Each fae was very different from the other. Some had horns, wings in all varieties, no wings vines for hair, different skin tones, different colors, and they all had different musical instruments.

Trick looked around and saw that most of the students were resigned. They did not move even when threatened with being taken by the magical creatures. However, there were enough who managed to rouse themselves and drag their feet back onto the dance floor. The fae laughed at all of them.

The nerds and jocks were the first to fall in beside Trick and Naomi as the fae readied their instruments. They were the most determined looking of the bunch. Trick caught a very knowing smirk about one of the girls who dancing for the haughty geeks. He wondered what she was so smug about.

He wasn’t able to think too long about what that small smile could mean when the instruments all started singing together.

Naomi grasped Trick and said, “It’s Immortal! I can hear it!.”

“Great. A break up song for a dance of passion. That sounds like it was a healthy relationship,” Trick grumbled.

“Shut up! I hope that you can dance the tango. I know a few things, a few moves.”

“So do I!”

Naomi gave Trick a frank look and asked, “Really? You know how to tango?”

“I know what it should look like. A little,” Trick said defensively. “Hey! I can’t be the only guy who watches Dancing with the Stars!”

Naomi snorted and then laughed as the words to the song came over the speaker system. The other couples were already dancing. Naomi and Trick quickly sprang together and started dancing. They were sloppy.

“We have to be crisp and precise with our moves,” Naomi hissed.

“On it,” Trick said assertively, taking the lead.

“Woah! Watch where you put your hands!”

“It’s the dance of passion,” Trick said, finding himself laughing.

He was certain he would get punched or slapped for that comment, but it nothing negative came of it. Naomi gripped him harder and went with every one of his moves, even if they were stupid. They kicked out, cut sharp angles, and made passionate spins. When every other couple started marching off hand in hand like actors in True Lies, Trick and Naomi doubled down on their spins.

The jock and nerd couple followed similar suit. Everyone cut a circle around the six of them as they played out the ridiculous dance to the music of a depressing break up. Trick from time to time caught glimpses at the awed expressions on the faces of the student onlookers.

Trick could easily imagine what the scene looked like. The circling dancers created a border with their bodies, making it a contest between just three couples. They sweated and puffed as they poured their desperation to stay alive into that outrageous and uncalled for tango. The fae sang along to the words and followed the three couples with their eyes and pointing fingers.

It was odd at first to dance on the grass. But Trick soon realized that the now grassy floor was slick with dew and the blades springy. It began more a matter of learning to slide with the grass, rather than avoiding tripping. It was not normal grass by any stretch of the imagination.

It was easily something out of a lucid nightmare. Still scary, but crazy enough to not induce panic.

“You should take some classes,” Naomi finally said. “You could get really good if you tried.

Trick’s brow raised as he said, “I might just consider that, if I have a good partner to live with.”

“I think I might know someone who is available,” she replied with a small smile.

“So long as it is not Cassie or whoever that one guy was who chased me down earlier!”

Naomi laughed and the music started winding down.

There was the sounding of a gong and the fae began cheering. A great wind came out of the small garden and the ground shook again. This time it opened up to swallow two more couples and two more cliques. In their place, more of the same trees as before burst up from the floor. The same black barked trees with blood red leaves. Now, all of the fruit glowed deep blues, purples, oranges, and poisonous greens.

Again, the dancers and prom attendees scattered and screamed. The wind returned with incredible ferocity and easily picked up the students. It hurled them through the air and placed them back where they belonged. The dancers who had not been swallowed up into the ground were left alone by the wind. But they now all stood in the shadows of the trees and were eerily lit with light of the strange, illuminescent fruit.

“We survived,” Trick finally gasped.

“Of course we did,” Naomi said. “We rocked that! At least, I did. Like I said, you were sloppy.”

“I’m happy to see that you two can take this so lightly,” a voice said.

They spun about and saw that the nerds were gathering around their couple. They were livid. And all of them were pulling on fingerless gloves with strange markings on them. The one who spoke was a gangly boy with a protruding adam’s apple and frizzy, long hair.

“We have not wanted to resort to these, but it is clear that you two invaders have upset our order and balance! You are trying to steal away from us what we worked so hard to gain!”

“Yes! That is why the fae like him,” Cory accused, pointing to Trick.

Sebastian sneered at him, his nose magically fixed. “We’re going to kill you now.”

Trick and Naomi went back-to-back. They swept out their D&D character sheets and held them up.

“Not if we do you in first,” Naomi shot back.

Trick faltered. “Um, Naomi? Sorry to ruin such a dramatic moment, but it’s just occurred to me. How do we use these things again?”