Work Text
When Adam Parrish walked into school that day, he found himself staring at numerous posters about prom. Dances were never his thing; neither was spending more time than necessary with his classmates.Clearly, he wasn’t attending prom.Aglionby’s prom was highly known around Henrietta, mostly because girls were allowed, and every public school girl was waiting to be invited. Adam could relate, because he still found himself itching to be a part of the school, to be like the rest of the Raven Boys, even if he knew he would never be like them.He walked towards his locker, nodding to the people that shouted his last name and avoiding the students who thought they were important enough to walk around like they owned the hallways, not making enough space for other people to walk.Since the school year was coming to its end, Adam was aware that Ronan wouldn’t be attending class. Ronan couldn’t be bothered to appear anymore, senior year being the year Declan finally left him alone about school and getting a diploma. And because when he woke up, Ronan was sitting on his desk eating pancakes, and he drove Adam to school after, before letting him know that school could suck his dick and that he was going back to Monmouth to feed Chainsaw. So, yes, Adam was positive about his boyfriend not going to class that day.When he made it to his locker, there was a note waiting for him.Prom? : ) – T. C.He frowned at that. T. C? Was that supposed to be a nickname?Adam tried to stay focused on his classes, getting good grades, maintaining his scholarship. Friendship was never his main goal by attending Aglionby. Of course, that changed when he met Gansey, but aside from Ronan, Noah, and Henry, there was no other student he could call his friend. He was acquainted with most people on his grade. Tanner Cummings, for example, who was his lab partner for the entirety of junior year. Adam was positive that he was straight, though, since he wouldn’t stop talking about his long-distance girlfriend. Thomas C. Holtman used to ask him for help in Geometry since Adam was one of the students with the best grades in class. He never mentioned having a girlfriend, or a boyfriend, for that matter, but then again, their conversations were always about formulas and easy ways to check if your answers were right.Honestly, there were so many students in Aglionby, that Adam couldn’t name them if he tried. Maybe T. C wasn’t even a name, but a pseudonym. Something like The Crazy or… Yeah, he had no idea who had written the note.That’s when Gansey decided to appear behind his back.
“Adam.” he greeted.Adam closed his hand around the paper quickly, turning around to greet his friend. They bumped fists. “Gansey,” he said, possibly sounding guilty. Guilty of being invited to prom, which wasn’t a crime. “Hi.”“Are you okay?” Gansey asked, frowning at him.“Yes,” Adam replied quickly, shoving the paper into his pocket and closing his locker. “You just took me by surprise, that’s all.”Gansey let it go, and they walked together to class. Adam tried to think about other people with that name, but every theory came inconclusive. Why would someone invite him to prom? Him, out of all people. He always felt invisible, not interesting enough to be started at by his classmates. The most interesting about him was always his scholarship, the fact that he was poor. He didn’t feel worthy of a crush, let alone an invite to prom. Ronan made sense because they were both impossible and magical creatures, but someone else? A student of Aglionby Academy, who was possibly rich and extremely spoiled? Why would someone like that want Adam Parrish?Maybe it was a prank, someone trying to mess with him. He forgot about it after third period.It wasn’t until the end of the day that he found out about who invited him.He was walking out of the school, needed to get to St. Agnes in fifteen minutes, because after that he had a shift at Boyd’s. Ronan had volunteered to take him, but then Matthew asked him if they could hang out, and Adam could take his own car to work, so it didn’t matter.He was walking down the parking lot when someone grabbed his shoulder.“Hey, Parrish!” Tad Carruthers said, before walking down to his own car.Adam replied softly, almost absent-mindedly. Tad Carruthers must’ve been the only person that didn’t realize that Adam didn’t like him… Oh.It made sense. Tad Carruthers was always trying to start a conversation, telling Adam about the places he vacationed in, or funny stories that happened to him at some party. Adam clearly didn’t care, but Tad didn’t seem to notice that.Tad was just like any Aglionby student, crazy rich, boring, spoiled. He was harmless enough, never said anything mean to him, never laughed when someone would call him trailer trash, and he would never make condescending comments about his three jobs. Tad simply was oblivious to the fact that Adam Parrish did not care about him.
“I think Tad Carruthers asked me to prom.” Adam announced once he made it to Nino’s after work. He sat next to Ronan, making sure their knees were pressing together.Adam waited as everyone on the table acknowledged his statement. Gansey was staring at him with a surprised expression, Henry had both of his eyebrows raised, and Blue was frowning, probably wondering who the fuck was he talking about. Ronan, on the other hand, seemed very preoccupied with the pizza slice on his plate.They were all sitting at Nino’s, and Adam figured there was no better time to get some advice from his friends.“Do you want to go with him?” asked Gansey, ever so careful.Adam did not want to go to prom with Tad Carruthers.“Are you joking?” Henry interrupted. “Tad’s the most annoying person I’ve met. And yes, Ronan is second on the list.”Ronan bared his teeth, before going back to his pizza. Adam wondered if Ronan was uncomfortable by that, considering they were supposed to be dating. Surely he’d know that Adam didn’t ask to be invited by Tad. Or anyone, in that case.“You think?” Asked Blue, before throwing more than a couple fries into her mouth. “Did he say so?”Adam took the paper out of his pocket and threw it on the table. Everyone stared at it.“Okay. He’s definitely asking you to prom.” Blue stated. “Congratulations.”“Dick does have a point.” Ronan interrupted. “Do you wanna go with him, Parrish?”Adam narrowed his eyes. He was tempted to throw a plate over Ronan’s head, but somehow, managed to remain calm.They hadn’t told anyone about their relationship yet. Adam did want to, but he wasn’t sure if Ronan wanted their friends to know. He did like to keep this mysterious façade, although everyone in the table knew exactly what Ronan pretended to be, and who Ronan really was.“I don’t, Lynch,” Adam replied. “Prom’s stupid.”Blue agreed. “Cheers to that!” she said, before drinking a big chunk of Gansey’s diet coke.“Just say you’re going with someone else.” Henry suggested, shrugging. “Or you can tell him you’re straight. No homo and stuff.”Ronan snorted at that. “Maybe throw a bro or a dude in the sentence, just so you sound more heterosexual.”“Like Gansey!” Blue laughed.“I have never in my life said dude.” Gansey replied, clearly offended.Adam had the least helpful friends in the universe.After Nino’s, Ronan drove him back to St. Agnes, and how it was expected, decided to spend the night. Adam began doing his normal stuff, while Ronan took a shower. He was folding laundry when his boyfriend came out of the bathroom, wearing a pair of Adam’s pajama pants that looked ridiculously small on him.
“So. Tad Carruthers.” He said, amused. “He even added a smiley face. He’s clearly making an effort.”
“Yeah.” Adam nodded, folding a t-shirt. “It’s weird, right?”“I mean. It’s obvious he’s into you.” Ronan commented, sitting next to Adam. “I don’t know why, though. You’re boring as fuck.”Adam rolled his eyes, smiling at his boyfriend. “Shut up, Lynch.”Ronan laughed. “A fucking smiley face. I bet he didn’t ask you over text only because you don’t have a phone.”He nodded. “Probably. He seems like the type to do that.”“It’s not like you can blame him.” Ronan added. “You’re hot. Irresistible, even. Adam Parrish, the hottest Aglionby student alive!”“Shut up!” Adam laughed, pressing his palm against Ronan’s mouth to keep him quiet. “Don’t be gross!” he added when Ronan licked his palm.Ronan threw himself into the bed, sighing. “Prom is stupid, anyway.”Adam agreed.“We should drive to the Barns, have our own prom.” Ronan continued. “Unless you’re planning on going with Carruthers.”“Don’t be an idiot, Ronan.” Adam rolled his eyes, finally folding his last item of clothing and leaving the pile of clothes on top of his desk. “You know I don’t like Tad. I like someone else.”“Oh?” Ronan replied.Adam threw himself next to Ronan on the bed, turning to stare at him. “Yeah. He’s a dick.”“I can’t believe you like Gansey.” Ronan deadpanned before Adam pressed his lips against his throat to shut him up.“Maybe I could just tell him,” Adam suggested, later in the night, when they were both ready to fall asleep. “That we’re dating.”“Are you asking me for permission, Parrish?” Ronan replied, both of his eyes closed.“No, but-“ Adam paused. “If Tad knows, then everyone will know. Including Gansey.”“I don’t care if Gansey or the fucking queen of England knows.” Ronan stressed, finally staring at Adam. “Do you?”“Of course not.” He took Ronan’s hand into his own, playing with the bands around his wrist. “I just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page.”Ronan smiled at him, and Adam couldn’t help but to press their lips together one last time before going back to sleep.He made a plan, because he was Adam Parrish, and it only made sense. He was going to talk to Tad, explain to him that he was dating someone else and that he wouldn’t be attending prom anyway. He was going to thank him for the invite, but politely decline.The next day, out of nowhere, Ronan decided that he was going to show up at school. It was a miracle, but neither Gansey nor Adam were planning on saying something and ruining it.As they walked down the hallways, Adam caught a glimpse of Tad Carruthers at his locker, speaking to one of his friends.“Okay.” He announced, to Ronan and Gansey. “I’m doing it.”“Good luck.” Gansey replied, giving him two thumbs up.Just as he started to walk towards Tad, Ronan wrapped his hand around Adam’s wrist and held him back. “Ronan, what…” he began, about to protest, when his boyfriend pressed a hand on the back of his neck, another one on his hip, and joined their lips together. It took him by surprise, but after a few seconds, he was relaxing into the kiss, his arms resting around Ronan’s neck, while he made sure to stretch the kiss as long as humanly possible.He could hear distant talking, “Are you seeing this?” “Are those Lynch and Parrish?” and “I thought Gansey was dating Lynch. That’s fucked up.”, but he was more preoccupied with Ronan’s lips than what his classmates had to say.Gansey had the decency to cough, and Ronan let him go. “You’re welcome.” He said, before storming off to God knows where.Adam swallowed, feeling the tips of his ears burn. Everyone seemed to go back to their thing, and when Adam tried to look for Tad, he was gone.“Do you think he saw?” Adam asked Gansey, frowning at him, still trying to find Tad in between the sea of Aglionby student.“I think so.” Gansey shrugged. “It wasn’t exactly subtle.”Adam snorted at that.“So, Adam,” Gansey added, using his extremely politician tone. “Are you and Ronan...?”“Yes. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you, we just wanted some time to figure everything out.” Adam replied easily. It felt relieving to talk about Ronan, for once.“I’m glad.” Gansey nodded. “Just don’t hurt him.”Adam nodded. They already had this conversation, and his stance remained the same; he wasn’t planning on hurting Ronan, not on purpose. He would try his best to keep him safe.He found Tad in the bathroom, after second period. It was coincidental, but Adam was grateful for the private space. “Hey.” He said, softly.“Oh, hey, Adam.” Replied Tad, his cheeks turning a bright shade of pink.Adam took the paper out of his pocket, showing it to Tad. “So, I’m guessing this is yours?”“Yeah, I…” Tad was clearly uncomfortable, and Adam couldn’t help but agree. “I didn’t know you were… You and Lynch… You know. You can keep it, the note.”Adam nodded. “Yes. Thank you for inviting me.”“It’s okay, I just figured, it’s senior year and I had to take my chance.” He explained, shoving both of his hands in his pockets. “I’ll probably just go with a group of friends, so… I’ll see you and Lynch there?”Adam let out a breathy laugh. “I don’t think Ronan’s the type to attend prom, but I hope you have a fun time.”“Right.” Tad nodded. “I’ll see you around, then.”Tad Carruthers had multiple layers of annoyingness, but he wasn’t a bad person. Adam thought that maybe if the circumstance were different, they could try to be friends. Not on this universe, but maybe in a parallel reality.Henry attended prom, mostly because he had to since he was one of the people organizing it. Gansey and Blue went as support, although Blue wore jeans and boots as a form of protest, no one seemed to mind.
Adam and Ronan spent prom night at the Barns, and it was more than Adam could’ve hoped for. In the end, it wasn’t a bad night at all.