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xp_logsJono asks Paige to the dance.
It had been....really telling about the kind of girl that Jono was into that his alternate universe self had entire journal entries and half-finished song lyrics written about this univere's Paige Guthrie.
There seemed to be a few more similarities to the world he was used to as well. This universe's Paige was smart, and driven, and so busy that Jono had to hunt her down to talk to her. The flowers he'd picked from what was probably the school landscaping had started to wilt where he'd wrapped a piece of paper around them as he waited outside the student government office, head tilted back against the wall, and his bookbag resting between his bent legs.
Paige exited the office in a flurry of papers and books, giant orange backpack that had clearly been picked for function over appearance was stuffed full to the straining point. She had just gotten out of a meeting about alternate her's campaign for SGA president, although it seemed less like a campaign and more like a hostile takeover. Perhaps she should ask Namor about that later. She was so caught up in thoughts about posters and buttons, she almost completely missed Jono sitting next to the door. “Oh, sorry, hey.”
"Hey." He smiled at her, pushing himself up off the ground and holding out the wilted flowers. "I er- got these for you."
....
Despite the sad looking flowers, Paige beamed up at him. “That’s so sweet of you!” She rearranged the books in her arms to better cradle the small bouquet and pulled Jono down to kiss his cheek. “Is there a reason for such a nice surprise or are you just feeling affectionate?”
He blushed, looking around the hallway to make sure nobody else was looking......other him might want this but he wasn't sure about other Paige. They were supposed to be following some kind of guidelines on that or whatever, he'd only half paid attention. "Well there was going to be a whole...thing-"
Which had included the use of some of the lyrics other-him had written as what was clearly a promposal and an electric guitar....except Jono had then remembered how ass those sound without an amp and electric outlets were harder to come by in the school than he'd hoped.
"Anyway- as it turns out, there's some sort of dance coming up? Something very American and I thought- maybe....it might be nice to go together?"
“Yeah? Something very American?” Paige wasn’t trying to tease, she did forget fairly often that Jono hadn’t had a similar high school experience to her. “You gonna wear a suit with a tie that matches my dress and everything?”
Ok, maybe she was teasing just a little. But the idea of Jono in formal wear instead of his normal leather jacket and jeans was entertaining.
"Is that part of it?" He asked seriously.
“For big dances like prom, yeah, but we don’t have to do that if you’re uncomfortable.” She thoughtfully left out the corsages and many photos taken before hand. Better not to scare him off before the dance.
"I cannot stress enough that everything I know about this dance comes from the posters in the hallway, Carrie, and Ten Things I Hate About You." Jono said, only slightly teasing. "Which is to say that I know nothing."
That actually did cause Paige to laugh a little. “I promise there’s not going to be buckets of pig blood at this dance. If you want to come over later, I can show you some photos and stuff of what’s more typical?” Looking around she lowered her voice. “Or when we get back to where we’re from, I could show you pictures from when I or Sam went to prom?”
Paige had gone to prom in high school with one of Sam’s friends, mostly because she had been expected to. The night had been fine, but she would have had more fun just hanging out with her friends. Taking Jono to a dance sounded nice, though. It might actually be fun to dress up nice and spend the night with him.
".....would....other-you go to prom with me?" He asked quietly. "As it turns out, other me is just as into you as real me."
Paige wasn’t one to moon over a crush, or at least she hadn’t thought she was. Other her was very good at organization, which meant the journal she kept had been easy to find. Paige wasn’t a snoop, but she couldn’t help but be curious about what this other her’s life was like. Instead of lists of colleges and plans for the next few months, what Paige had found was a bunch of entries about watching Jono perform with his band and acknowledging her in the hall and when he asked her for help with homework in amongst the other details of her everyday life. It was pretty clear this Paige was just as over the moon about Jono as she was. “I can confidently say she would say yes. Honestly, she might have tried to ask you out.”
“Oh….. well great….. I’ll have to get a suit.” He said dumbly. “Is the suit the same color or the tie?”
“No, that can be black. Unless you want to wear a brightly colored suit. Could be a bold look for you.” Paige bumped his should affectionately. “If you need a suit, you can probably rent a decent one."
"Noted." He grinned. "So what exactly is prom?"
“A fancy dance. Usually, it’s the last big event for the seniors before graduation. But really it’s just a fancy dance.” Honestly, she was surprised Jono had asked. She had thought he might be playing at the dance.
"Looking forward to it then. Hopefully I clean up well enough for you."
Paige raised an eyebrow. “You know you don’t have to prove anything right? You could show up in your pajamas for all I care.”
Jono's face made an expression that to both outside observers and those in the know would indicate panic. Almost as if he'd been having ideas about other occasions for which he'd have to dress up for Paige. "And let other me embarass other you? Absolutely not."
“You could never.” Paige squeezed his arm. “I’m free now that meeting is over. You want to swing by the mall and find some clothes?”
“Works perfectly, I’m free ‘till six.” He grinned. “I’m told the dress is to remain a secret though,” Like a wedding, his brain supplied unhelpfullly, “so perhaps you help me find a tie and then we split up for the rest?”
Paige had never believed in that superstition, but she knew Jono believed in traditions. “Works for me, I’ll know what to match to you that way.” She pulled his arm around her shoulders as they walked out of the school.
It had been....really telling about the kind of girl that Jono was into that his alternate universe self had entire journal entries and half-finished song lyrics written about this univere's Paige Guthrie.
There seemed to be a few more similarities to the world he was used to as well. This universe's Paige was smart, and driven, and so busy that Jono had to hunt her down to talk to her. The flowers he'd picked from what was probably the school landscaping had started to wilt where he'd wrapped a piece of paper around them as he waited outside the student government office, head tilted back against the wall, and his bookbag resting between his bent legs.
Paige exited the office in a flurry of papers and books, giant orange backpack that had clearly been picked for function over appearance was stuffed full to the straining point. She had just gotten out of a meeting about alternate her's campaign for SGA president, although it seemed less like a campaign and more like a hostile takeover. Perhaps she should ask Namor about that later. She was so caught up in thoughts about posters and buttons, she almost completely missed Jono sitting next to the door. “Oh, sorry, hey.”
"Hey." He smiled at her, pushing himself up off the ground and holding out the wilted flowers. "I er- got these for you."
....
Despite the sad looking flowers, Paige beamed up at him. “That’s so sweet of you!” She rearranged the books in her arms to better cradle the small bouquet and pulled Jono down to kiss his cheek. “Is there a reason for such a nice surprise or are you just feeling affectionate?”
He blushed, looking around the hallway to make sure nobody else was looking......other him might want this but he wasn't sure about other Paige. They were supposed to be following some kind of guidelines on that or whatever, he'd only half paid attention. "Well there was going to be a whole...thing-"
Which had included the use of some of the lyrics other-him had written as what was clearly a promposal and an electric guitar....except Jono had then remembered how ass those sound without an amp and electric outlets were harder to come by in the school than he'd hoped.
"Anyway- as it turns out, there's some sort of dance coming up? Something very American and I thought- maybe....it might be nice to go together?"
“Yeah? Something very American?” Paige wasn’t trying to tease, she did forget fairly often that Jono hadn’t had a similar high school experience to her. “You gonna wear a suit with a tie that matches my dress and everything?”
Ok, maybe she was teasing just a little. But the idea of Jono in formal wear instead of his normal leather jacket and jeans was entertaining.
"Is that part of it?" He asked seriously.
“For big dances like prom, yeah, but we don’t have to do that if you’re uncomfortable.” She thoughtfully left out the corsages and many photos taken before hand. Better not to scare him off before the dance.
"I cannot stress enough that everything I know about this dance comes from the posters in the hallway, Carrie, and Ten Things I Hate About You." Jono said, only slightly teasing. "Which is to say that I know nothing."
That actually did cause Paige to laugh a little. “I promise there’s not going to be buckets of pig blood at this dance. If you want to come over later, I can show you some photos and stuff of what’s more typical?” Looking around she lowered her voice. “Or when we get back to where we’re from, I could show you pictures from when I or Sam went to prom?”
Paige had gone to prom in high school with one of Sam’s friends, mostly because she had been expected to. The night had been fine, but she would have had more fun just hanging out with her friends. Taking Jono to a dance sounded nice, though. It might actually be fun to dress up nice and spend the night with him.
".....would....other-you go to prom with me?" He asked quietly. "As it turns out, other me is just as into you as real me."
Paige wasn’t one to moon over a crush, or at least she hadn’t thought she was. Other her was very good at organization, which meant the journal she kept had been easy to find. Paige wasn’t a snoop, but she couldn’t help but be curious about what this other her’s life was like. Instead of lists of colleges and plans for the next few months, what Paige had found was a bunch of entries about watching Jono perform with his band and acknowledging her in the hall and when he asked her for help with homework in amongst the other details of her everyday life. It was pretty clear this Paige was just as over the moon about Jono as she was. “I can confidently say she would say yes. Honestly, she might have tried to ask you out.”
“Oh….. well great….. I’ll have to get a suit.” He said dumbly. “Is the suit the same color or the tie?”
“No, that can be black. Unless you want to wear a brightly colored suit. Could be a bold look for you.” Paige bumped his should affectionately. “If you need a suit, you can probably rent a decent one."
"Noted." He grinned. "So what exactly is prom?"
“A fancy dance. Usually, it’s the last big event for the seniors before graduation. But really it’s just a fancy dance.” Honestly, she was surprised Jono had asked. She had thought he might be playing at the dance.
"Looking forward to it then. Hopefully I clean up well enough for you."
Paige raised an eyebrow. “You know you don’t have to prove anything right? You could show up in your pajamas for all I care.”
Jono's face made an expression that to both outside observers and those in the know would indicate panic. Almost as if he'd been having ideas about other occasions for which he'd have to dress up for Paige. "And let other me embarass other you? Absolutely not."
“You could never.” Paige squeezed his arm. “I’m free now that meeting is over. You want to swing by the mall and find some clothes?”
“Works perfectly, I’m free ‘till six.” He grinned. “I’m told the dress is to remain a secret though,” Like a wedding, his brain supplied unhelpfullly, “so perhaps you help me find a tie and then we split up for the rest?”
Paige had never believed in that superstition, but she knew Jono believed in traditions. “Works for me, I’ll know what to match to you that way.” She pulled his arm around her shoulders as they walked out of the school.
