Ch. 12 Peaceful Dance

Ada finishes tying Myrddin's tie. "And the finishing touch~!"

"Mom, I told you I can do this down my own" Myrddin complains, but it's mostly to try and keep some of his dignity at least. He couldn't tell his moms no when she insisted on at least doing this much.

She straightens his tie and collar as she dusts off his already clean shoulders. "As your mother it is my duty to make sure you look absolutely stunning for your first school dance"

"I wouldn't exactly call myself stunning, more like I won't stick out like a sore thumb" Myrddin tries to stay still as his mom continues to give him another look over.

His mom then grabs some hair gel and then begins moving his hair back and styles it.

Myrddin closes his eyes and tries to to flinch or wince as his mom pulls on his hair. He could do this part for himself as well, but he once again couldn't tell his mom no.

After 4 minutes of hair torture Myrddin is released. He swears that his mom was just messing with him after the first minute since it just felt like she was pulling on his hair for fun.

He looks in a mirror and makes sure he doesn't look too weird. The bad kind of weird. And he actually thinks he cleans up well. He hadn't actually shown off most of his face for most of the year since he decided to grow his hair out, so this was a welcome change to actually be able to see without having to move his bangs.

"There's my handsome young man!" Ada feels so happy seeing her son all dressed up. She can't believe he is actually wanting to go to the dance, even if he doesn't have a date. "Are you ready for pictures?"

"Do I have a choice?" Myrddin asks as he puts his phone in his pocket.

"Not really!" Ada drags her son outside and in front of the plants in their front yard. "Stand there and smile… Say Homecoming!"

"homecoming…" Myrddin awkwardly says as he awkwardly smiles.

His mom frowns but still takes the picture. "Cmon~. Be happy, and smile a little!" She tries to get him to smile. "This is your first homecoming! You'll never forget it"

Myrddin's strained smile widens a bit. "Kinda hard to smile when talking and saying homecoming"

"Then just focus on something that makes you happy and smile" Ada says as she takes more pictures on her phone.

After 20 minutes Myrddin is done being photographed and goes back inside the house with his mother.

"So what did Deaton have to say to you about your dance?" Ada asks as she begins looking through the many pictures she took.

"Dr. Deaton said to have fun. And we only had 2 morning appointments so I was able to assist him on them. The first was giving a golden retriever it's updated shots and the other was trying to remove magnets from an iguanas stomach and intestines" Myrddin casually says as he gets a glass of water.

Hearing that an iguana are magnets causes Ada to look up from the pictures and look at her son with a confused expression. "An iguana?"

"Yeah. I don't know why it are magnets either. Even Dr. Deaton said this was his first time hearing an iguana ear a magnet as well. But after we removed the magnet the iguana was alright. He just has to come back in after a few weeks or if he starts acting weird. His owner was very relieved he would be alright" Myrddin remembers how he was allowed to assist. He still was only allowed to touch the instruments, but he learned a lot about reptiles from Deaton today. He also had to clean the operating table off as well.

"Honey, I love you. But when you get a girlfriend I hope she enjoys your weird vet talk, I can't imagine a poor little guy getting cut open" Ada shakes her head.

"Thanks mom" Myrddin sarcastically responds.

Ada holds her hands up. "Or boyfriend. I won't judge"

"Now you've gone too far" Myrddin puts his glass in the sink. "Are you sure you want to drive me? I can walk" He tries to change the subject. He knows his mom is only messing with him, but it's still awkward to hear from your mom. And he likes girls, it's just the ones in his school don't look at him romantically… or at all.

"I'm not going to make you walk to this dance. And other parents are driving their kids as well. Are you ready?" Ada puts her phone away after looking at the time.

"We can be a little late. It'll be weird being there as soon as it starts anyway" Myrddin half shrugs.

"Mmmm, I guess your right" Ada pulls her phone back out to find the best picture of her son.

——————

"Have fun!" Ada watches as Myrddin gets out of the car in front of the school.

This is the first time he's been dropped off, he's walked to and from school every other time.

"I'll try. Thanks for dropping me off, I'll give you a call when I need to be picked up. Drive home safe" Myrddin says before shutting the door.

His mom waves him goodbye and drives off.

Myrddin turns around and joins the crowd of super hormonal and anxious teens as they all go inside the school towards the gymnasium where the dance is held.

Loud music can be heard echoing through the halls of the school, even before you enter you can hear the quiet beat of a Flo Rida song. Specifically it's his newest song, Turn Around.

There are groups of people entering the building. There are some couples, some groups of girls, some groups of guys, and a few people walking in alone.

But every person walking into the school takes out a ticket that a teacher rips in half and gives only half of the ticket back to the student.

Myrddin gets his half back and continues on towards the gymnasium.

The halls leading to the gymnasium are decorated.

This years theme for homecoming is "All Around the World" so there are sections themed around certain parts of the world. One part might be based on the arctic and would have a glacier background with penguins or polar ear stuff-animals so people can take pictures with them. Similar scenarios are set up all down the hall.

And all the adjacent halls are blocked off to keep the student from wandering around the school. But there are many exits just to be safe, like if there is a fire people don't just have one exit.

None of this really caught Myrddin's eye. He saw mostly girls taking pictures with things like penguins, the Statue of Liberty, a pyramid, the Eiffel Tower, and various other well known locations around the world. But there were a few guys as well, and most of the guys were being dragged from one picture to the next by their date.

After his photo shoot outside his house he's not really feeling like taking more pictures. He will probably find still photos of the hallway in the yearbook or on the schools website after tonight. He's not a selfie kind of guy and he isn't going to ask someone to take a photo of him by himself.

When he gets to the gymnasium it's dark with dim lights giving barely enough light to see around the place. There is a dj stand with humongous speakers on either side of him and his elevated stand. On the opposite side of the gym is where the seats are at.

Without hesitation Myddir makes his way to a seat and enjoys the music.

The dance has technically started 20 minutes ago, but people are still arriving like it's just started.

Myddir sees the punch bowl along with a table of 'snacks' but he knows better than to eat or drink at an event like this where no one is fully supervising the refreshments and food.

As for the chaperones, he spots a few familiar teachers but doesn't recognize any of the parents. For teachers it's: Bobby Finstock the coach and teacher of economics, Natalie Martin who is a councilor and a substitute teacher, Adrian Harris the Chemistry teacher, Mr. Westover the history teacher, Marin Morell a councilor and French teacher, and a few other teachers.

He wonders if Lydia will win the prom Queen with Jackson getting the prom king title. They're popular, but he is t so sure they are THAT popular yet. Probably next year if they aren't this year.

The lights then begin to shine on the ground and move around as the music gets slightly louder.

Teens are everywhere around the room. The dance floor is already crowded and the seats are getting filled quickly.

With everything going on, the chaperones are just watching the teens have a good time. They would be talking to each other but the music is so loud there isn't a point.

Myrddin just enjoys some simple people watching. He can do without the annoying Britney Spears song playing. He will admit she has a few good songs, but the dj is currently playing one of her worse songs.

Around the front of the gym is the dj and the dance floor is in front of him. Couples and groups of teenagers are dancing. He's fairly certain some teenagers are just dancing and then they spontaneously find a dance partner and they just start dancing together.

All in all nearly everyone is having a good time. Myrddin is having about an average time. It's cool to see people outside of school and enjoying themselves, but at the same time he isn't able to enjoy himself. He would much rather be out in the preserve with Caval or the stump.

While he may want to do other things, that doesn't mean he won't enjoy what he is currently doing. This experience may not be the best, but it's new and that's something he won't complain about.

——————

As the night goes on the teenagers get more and more rowdy- well, hormonal is the more correct term actually. The dance floor becomes more of a grind-floor. The chaperones even had to step in a certain point.

Myrddin got bored of people watching around this time and has instead moved his curious gaze to the people sitting in the chairs.

His chair was moved by him away from the table and to the back wall with a few other people having the same idea. But the other people had friends to sit next to them.

Somehow out of all these people, Myrddin feels like he is the only one that is alone.

It's a weird feeling. He isn't sad, upset, or anything else really. It's just more of an observation than anything else. He did kind of expect there to be a few others like himself.

As the night gets to about three-quarters over the music stops and someone gets up on stage in front of the dj.

A random female teacher takes the stage with a microphone in one hand and two envelopes in her other. "Hello Stidents!" She cheerfully says and the murmur quiets down.

"It's time for the event you've all been waiting for, or maybe not. But either way, it's time to crown the homecoming king and queen for this year!"

The crowd of teenagers of various ages cheer loudly before quieting back down and allow the teacher to continue.

"I'm not one for patience as well, so let's get this started fast and proper with the homecoming king!" She holds up an a white letter with gold trim that came from an envelope.

The crowd cheers a bit more.

It's around this time that Myrddin recognizes Ms. Christin. She's an art teacher, the painting class teacher to be specific. She's also the head of the art department and is very popular, mostly because her classes are easy to pass and she's a very active member in many of the schools activities, like this dance.

"For the 2010, Around the World, homecoming king we have-" Christin opens the letter and reads it aloud. "Myrddin Wyllt!"

Myrddin's heart just about disappears with those words that she just said. His eyes widen and he tries to think of what is happening.

The crowd murmurs and Christine looks out over the crowd. She actually pronounced his name right, which is surprising. "Myrddin Wyllt! You are homecoming king, please make your way up here" She calls out.

Myrddin doesn't dare move his feet. Something isn't right and he bows this is just someone doing a cruel prank. Odds are nobody even knows he's here.

"Alright ladies and gents, it seems we have a shy king. Let's look around and see if we can spot him amongst all of you" Christin says as she folds the letter.

The lights around the room then begin to move about like they're a searchlight trying to find a missing person.

"There he is!" Someone shouts and points towards the back.

Slowly more and more people spot Myrddin. The spotlights also find him and they all shine on him.

Christin looks over the crowd and spots a young man sitting at the back of the gymnasium. "Myrddin Wyllt, come on up here please"

Myrddin blocks the lights from his eyes as he flinches. Every damn light is on him. Maybe it would have been best just to get up when they called his name the first time.

As he stands up and moves forward the lights stay trained on his small frame.

With unwavering steps he makes it to the stage and uses the side steps to go and stand in front of Ms. Christin.

Christin moves to the side of the stage and grabs a crown from somebody. "Let's hear it for our 2010 homecoming king!"

There's a quiet applause from the crowd. But through the noise Myrddin hears something bad.

*krrrr* *Chunk!* *Swish!*

Myrddin looks up at the sound of something mechanical moving. His feet feel like they're cemented in place and they won't even budge an inch.

*Splash!*

A red liquid lands directly onto Myrddin's head and covers him almost completely. It isn't thick, but it isn't super watery either. His glasses get ripped from his face by the force of the falling substance and he's somehow able to keep standing. The red substance hits him and then the stage below him and splashes against the bottom of the djs setup and Ms. Christine's shoes. The people directly in front of the stage all back up in a panic to try and not ruin their dresses or suits that they rented for the night.

Some people get trampled under the sudden backing up of the crowd. There are some cries of pain and shouts of surprise. But the majority of people are left speechless at the sight on the slightly elevated stage.

Myrddin is nearly covered from head-to-toe in the red liquid that they were all afraid to even let splash on them. His slicked back hair is a darkish red color and has gotten a little messy from the force of being hit by the substance that fell from the ceiling. His glasses are somewhere. And even after he wipes his eyes clear from the substance it isn't like he can see where they went anyway. He can feel the liquid down his back and in his pants as it soaks into everything he is wearing.

"This is very original…" Myrdin tries wiping the red liquid off his face and flings it on the ground. He tries to look around but can't make out any teachers or parent chaperones making their way to help with this situation. He isn't sure who he pissed off this much…

"M-Myrddin…" Christine looks on horrified at the scene in front of her. This is like her worst nightmare, every year she gets more and more surprised at how cruel high school teenagers can be. "… are you ok?"

Myrddin tries to look over at the teacher who is still holding the microphone but not talking into it. "I'll give you one guess how I'm feeling when I was just forced to play Carrie in this unofficial school play" He flatly says. And boy does he wish he can see everyone's faces. Mostly because he could probably find out who did this to him. Unless they had the best poker faces out there.

Bobby Finstock unplugs the dj's setup and tosses the cord. The music that was playing for the homecoming king stops playing and now people start muttering and taking pictures.

"At least turn the sound off…" Myrddin continues to try and wipe his face clean but it just smears the liquid around.

"H-how can somebody actually do something like this…" Christin looks at the scene and backs away, nearly falling off the stage but she stops herself.

Finstock jumps up on the stage, along with another teacher to check on Myrddin. "Holy fucking shit biscuit kid, besides the trauma this is causing and will cause… how are you? Did any of it get in your eyes?"

Myrddin turns towards Bobby. "It's gotten everywhere…"

Flinstock and the teacher don't really know what to do. But Finstock looks out amongst the teens. "Whoever did this step forward now and own up to this! If we have to search and find you, you can bet your ass the punishment will be 10 times worse! Not even your mommy or daddy will be able to get you out of this one!"

Myrddin tries to find his black frame glasses in the red blur below him. He thinks he spots them but when he takes a step forward he ends up falling to his hands and knees, causing the liquid to jump back into the air a little bit. He isn't sure if his legs are stiff and don't want to move or if he slipped on this damn liquid.

"Jinkies Velma! Where'd your glasses go?!" Some random guy shouts from the crowd. Some people laugh while others don't dare. But as people begin laughing others begin laughing. It is contagious.

Flinstock steps forward on the stage and points at the teen who shouted. But he nearly slips when he took a single step. "I swear to- woa~! God damn it Jeff! Keep your mouth shut unless you want even more detention than that just got you!"

Obviously nobody comes forward to admit they did this. And of course the teens don't stop talking or taking photos of this as other teachers and chaperones begin to attempt some damage control.

However, the chaperones are way out of their depth. They were just supposed to make sure kids don't get too freaky on the dance floor or the spike bowl doesn't get spiked or try and break up any fights. This? They don't really know what to do about this.

The socks of Myrddin soak up the liquid like a sponge. And his shoes are just pools of it at this point.

At least he does find his glasses. But there's no way he can see through them. Even when he wipes them clean it's just smearing the liquid across the lens. Anything he could use to clean it is already soaked so it's useless.

He shakily stands up and puts his glasses on. Even if his vision is 85% blocked with the glasses on, at least he can see something with his glasses on compared to just vague blurry colors without them on.

He looks out across the crowd and sees everyone looking up at him with varying looks. Myrddin's heart feels like it stopped when he heard that mechanical noise. But now it's finally beating again and a wave of emotions comes crashing down on him.

But there's only one thought. 'Run!'

As fast as he can he books it off the stage and out of the gymnasium. He gets to the hallway and doesn't stop as he continues to run as fast as he can. And this is definitely the fastest he has ever run in his entire life. He doesn't get to enjoy it though as he's only focused on getting out of there. He can't think straight. He can't come up with a plan on how to get back at anyone who did this to him. He can't imagine what his mom will think and do. And his sister… How did they know her nickname for him? That thought and question pounded the inside of his head. But his mind couldn't do much else as he ran and eventually found himself alone on the lacrosse field in the dark.

Myrddin looks around and notices where he is. And he looks back to see that while his footprints aren't leaving a trail, he is still dripping this liquid. He continues his running and gets to the bleachers and takes a seat as his lungs feel like they're on fire and about to explode. There's also a sharp pain in his side from running so fast so suddenly and for so long as well.

He collapses onto the steps of the bleachers and puts his arms on his knees and rests his forehead on his arms as he closes his eyes and tries to get himself calmed down. But it's like it has the opposite effect.

A blinding flash of light shoots across the cloudy night sky.

*Kra-KOOM!!!*

Thunder sounds out over the entirety of Beacon Hills. And shakes the bleachers Myrddin is sitting on.

He picks his head up and notices that rain begins to fall slowly. But it soon picks up to a heavy downfall.

The sound of the rain on the bleachers and the lacrosse field drown out the voices of the teachers outside shouting his name.

As he looks up at the clouds he can feel the viscous red liquid be showered off his body.

He closes his eyes and takes his glasses off to let the rain wash his face clean.

Out of nowhere his eyes open, but not physically. He can see the inside of what looks like a big house. There's a bunch of people dancing and partying inside and outside. There's a giant pool outside and there's easily 100 teens. And what's weird is that he sorta recognizes most of them. It's the entirety of the lacrosse team, but they look different…. different as in some have longer hair or look older. But not much. Maybe a year or two older?

And that's when he sees Lydia and Jackson making out in the corner of the backyard. It's obvious Lydia isn't into it and she's looking over Jackson's shoulder into the house. Myrddin looks back into the house and sees the same guy Scott was running with in his other 'dream'. But he was dancing with some girl with brown hair and eyes.

Then he opens his real eyes and the sight is gone. As if it was just a figment of his imagination.

Myrddin shakes his head and looks down at the red tinted ground as his hair returns to some of its old messy glory. But he notices some of his bangs are still red. Actually, all the hair he can see is still red.

He tries to think back to his 'dreams' and why he's hallucinating them. The feeling he felt when he was seeing them… it was like he wasn't there. He saw everything. But what he heard and felt was like he was detached. And that's the weirdest thing. He was able to hear and feel things from a dream or hallucination!

"This is how villains start right? Even Carrie ended up murdering everyone at her dance…" Myrddin's mind begins to calm, if only a little. The cold rain water washing his body does help even if it isn't much.

He might even consider being evil, but when he thinks about disappointing his mom and dad… he can't bring himself to do anything like that. He isn't a saint, but he also doesn't like hurting people either.

There is only one thing he can think to do without getting in trouble himself. And that's to not react to something like this. The reason someone would do this is to get a reaction out of him and likely get him out of Beacon Hills, or at least high school. So to stick it to the people that did this he just needs to keep being himself since it annoyed someone enough to do something this drastic already.

The more he thinks about this the more he realizes this doesn't affect him all that much. It's just like how the fight video of him and Jackson, only cranked up several levels. Except the school can't really if ore this one. He already didn't really talk with anyone before, now he has an excuse besides him just enjoying his alone time.

Across the field there is a person watching Myrddin as he basks in the rain.