♫ Meet me there, where it never closes. Meet me there, where it's never hopeless. All is fair in love. ♫

The lyrics of the song echo around the ballroom-like gymnasium. Streamers line the room and hang from the banisters, confetti covers the floor like sprinkles on a cupcake, and the coloured spotlights cut through the room's darkness like knives. It's packed full of academy students who most likely snuck alcohol into the dance, and slipped it into their drinks or straight into the bowl of punch at the table.

Among all the chaos, Viktor sits by the entrance with his crutch between his legs, waiting for his date. His hair was pulled back in a loose bun, mocha brown with blonde highlights that shone in the light. Mel had the pleasure of picking out Viktor's outfit, an ivory-white button-up shirt with bell sleeves and an open back that revealed his back brace, chestnut-brown high-waisted button-up pants paired with a knee-high boot on his left, and a shorter, matching high-heel boot on his right to accommodate his brace. She even somehow convinced him to wear clip-on earrings, gold with a sapphire gem that sparkled in the lights. Viktor couldn't tell if he regretted letting Mel pick it all out, but couldn't say he didn't like how confident it made him feel.

It was all Jayce's idea, a double date to the academy Spring Dance and the after party with Jayce, Mel, Viktor, and whoever Viktor could convince to join him. Viktor had no shortage of people who fancied him, but he went with someone he trusted not to humiliate him, and now, just hope they didn't stand him up.