“You don’t think the kiddies will want, or possibly even need ay of that food,” Vince asked, as Camille shoved no bake chocolate, peanut butter, oatmeal cookies into her mouth.

“I’m starving,” Camille managed to say with her cheeks bulging. “The little rugrats wanted to get here to the dance as quickly as they could. Left my husband to clean up the leftovers and dishes from their dinner.”

“What a brave man,” Vince said solemnly.

“Not really,” Nate said with a mischievous giggle. “We drew straws. I made sure he got the short one! And that’s how you get out of chores as an adult.”

That last comment was directed right at Trick, who just nodded and smiled. It was the best he could manage.

His mother had been correct. They had managed to tap into their imagination and pull off an amazing, impossible, incredible dance, and it came with a high cost. He and Naomi were both exhausted! It was all they could do to keep themselves awake. Trick had wanted to go back to the hotel and crash, but Naomi insisted that they remain at the dance.

It must be for the same silly reason why she got so upset about the corsage.

To keep himself awake, he tried to participate in the conversation these chaperoning parents were having, while admiring the dancers. By Trick’s estimation, the fae had outdone themselves with restoring everything to the way it had once been. It was impossible to tell that this dance hall had been an overgrown warzone!

“Don’t worry, you’ll know what I’m talking about when you get there,” Nate said happily. “Chores will follow you your whole life long, but hopefully you’ll have children or unsuspecting friends to pass them off onto.”

“He’s need it anyway,” Camille said, shaking her head as she reached her sticky fingers out for more cookies and punch. “He keeps trying to run off to his man cave during the week.”

“I prefer the study,” Vince commented.

“I prefer a dark corner with Bakemono. I mean, what,” Nate laughed.

Trick gave a token chuckle, earning him a hearty slap on the shoulder.

He looked over to his side and saw Naomi also struggling with staying awake. She was also hanging out at the table, slowly eating from a small plate of refreshments. Just beyond her was his mother, standing next to agents Conturbatio and Miles. They had quickly returned from an unsuccessful raid on the shed where the first Door had been made.

It was clear that the nerds had been working on it beforehand and then abandoned their project once they had success. Then the jocks had discovered it and added their own handiwork. WIth the fae having erased everyone’s memories of their doings and had removed all of the evidence that they had even existed in their world, the dance was going on as if all the night’s events were a forgotten fantasy.

Which is exactly what they were.

The authorities had arrived on the scene of the dance to find the billowing fog. They had thought it was smoke from a fire. That was the way the fae exuded their presence at the convention center. Anyone who charged in to put out the supposed fire found themselves frozen in a state of stupor.

But once the covenant was broken and the agreements fulfilled, everyone was a little confused as what to do. Naomi and Trick had contacted his mother and passed along the information they had learned. To make up for the lapse of memory and the threat of an attack on the prom, they passed along the names of Sebastian, Cory, and Becky. Trick wanted to find out the name of the kid with the baseball bat.

They had all agreed, however, that given the circumstances they should let everyone have one blissful night for prom before hell descended upon them for creating a Door. And all of that would have to be passed off as a botched threat. Conturbatio would oversee the whole affair and make sure that some justice was meted out.

“Oh no… That’s where Jed is,” Camille groaned, her mouth once again stuffed.

“What’s he up to,” Vince asked.

“Leaving it all out on the dance floor, if you ask me,” Nate answered.

Trick followed their gazes to a tall gentleman in a suit made of duct tape. At first Trick mistook him for a fellow teenager, but he could just see that he was older than the rest of the kids dancing. He had limbs that were flopping all over the place. He was cutting loose and reminded Trick of a cartoon character tripping on ecstacy.

“How is he able to do that,” Vince laughed. “I try dancing for a song, and I feel the ache for a whole hour afterwards!”

Nate groaned, “Getting old sucks. Don’t do that, pal. Stay sixteen as long as you can.”

“Changes coming around real soon, make us women and men,” Vince finished.

Camille exclaimed, “It’s because Jed is forever sixteen! He has eternal youth!”

That sent a cold chill down Trick’s spine.

“Forever young! I want to be forever young,” Nate sung. “You know that song right? And not just the stupid remix?”

“Yes, I do,” Trick answered.

“So he does speak,” Camille said, cramming her mouth full of chocolates now.

“You’re so dignified,” Nate commented to her.

“I’m so glad you noticed. It takes a lot of work to be a hot mess like this!”

“A sexy hot mess!”

“Easy now children,” Vince warned. “There are preschool toys about!”

Sure enough, there was a gathering of students on one side of the table. They all gave the adults worried and disgusted glances and looks. It was clear that they wanted to get at the refreshments as well, but they were worried about the grown-ups flocking around their food. Trick supposed they were also upset about adults being so involved on their special night.

If only they remembered that just an hour ago there was something even worse to worry about.

“Way to date us,” Nate laughed. “You know what, I think I’m going to join the Jed on the dance floor. You coming?”

“No, I’m good for right now,” Trick said.

“Come on guys,” Jed shouted across the dance floor. “I asked them to play ‘Chandelier’!”

“I’ll believe that when I hear it,” Camille grumbled.

Trick left the strange adults and made his way over to Naomi.

“How are you holding up?”

“Exhausted,” she grunted.

“It looks like you are waiting for something,” Trick observed.

“Always observant,” she replied dryly. But then she smiled and added, “But if it wasn’t for that, we might have died a number of times along the way. With all of our adventures.”

“But you keep me grounded. And when I can’t come in clutch, you come in swinging,” Trick said with a chuckle.

“I don’t think those two sayings were ever supposed to mix,” Naomi laughed. “Crap, we are so tired!”

“I told you we should have gone back to the hotel!”

“Not yet, I’m hoping for something.”

Before Trick could ask what it was, there was a sudden change. So far that night, it had just been the constant thud of remixed, unintelligible music. Trick could barely recognize half of the songs being played. But now, this was a song that he recognized. ANd it wasn’t even a remix!

“Ha! And we were just talking about this song,” Trick said sleepily.

“Who?”

“Never mind,” Trick said with a wave of his hand.

“Trick? Do you want to dance,” Naomi asked him.

He was in no state of mind to really refuse. So arm in arm, they walked out onto the dance floor. The two of them mostly shuffled and stepped somewhat in time to the music. No one would have believed in that moment that they had danced with fae and soared among magical stars.

“You know, I really like this song,” Trick said. “I once wanted to waste away my days outwitting others and pulling pranks. But now I want to make the most of what I am and the time I have. That is the kind of legend that makes you forever young.”

“We should get you drunk tired more often, it makes you a reasonable philosopher,” Naomi commented.

They laughed and continued to sway to the music. Trick knew the others were watching them. There was nothing to do about it. Let them think what they wanted. The kiss Naomi had given him was just to give them an edge against the fae. And it had worked wonderfully.

“After this song, let’s go back and get some sleep. I don’t think I could last another dance anyway,” Naomi mumbled.

“Now you’re speaking my language,” Trick said.

The music ended and they shared a quick hug. Again, arm in arm they walked off the dance floor and towards the exit. His mother and the other two agents moved to accompany them.

The music changed and ‘Chandelier’ came on. Trick heard a loud whoop and looked over his shoulder. He saw some kids running away red faced from Jed and Nate. They were embarrassing their children as they got caught up in the song. Camille and Vince flew over and joined them.

The teens all stopped and watched with disturbed fascination as these four adults started swinging on their own imaginary chandeliers.

“Prom. One hell of a night,” Trick laughed.

Together, he an Naomi exited the ballroom and did not look back.