somewhere in the crowd there’s you
The Bright Sessions • Adam Hayes / Caleb Michaels Rating: T • ~3.7k words • ao3 cw: a little bit of sensory overload
He’d never looked forward to prom before the way the rest of the school did, but once Adam entered his life, he’d suddenly begun counting down the days. Not for himself, though; he just wanted to make this night as perfect as possible for Adam, for both of them together.
-or-
Caleb and Adam go to prom!!
Thank you to my lovely lovely friend Leo (@fandoms-are-my-lifestyle) for beta-ing this for me and for encouraging me to write this thing. I'm so glad I introduced you to TBS and to Caleb and Adam because your reactions to everything have brought me so much joy during this awful year and honestly, so has our friendship : )
Title: "Super Trouper" from Mamma Mia! because duh.
Caleb leaves Dr. Bright’s office after helping her move her stuff into her car, his heart sinking a bit as he realizes this is likely the last time he will ever pass through this doorway. The sadness doesn’t last long, though — as soon as he hears the door click shut behind him, he feels a wave of calm wash over him, the kind of calm he only feels when Adam’s around.
As if the thought of Adam summoned him into Caleb’s presence, Adam rounds the corner and the calm quickly sweeps away in favor of the warm bubbles that Caleb has come to recognize as love. He can’t help the giant grin that melts onto his face matching the one already on Adam’s.
“Hey Meathead,” Adam says in greeting.
“Dork,” Caleb replies, nodding at Adam.
Adam stops a few steps away from Caleb, the love mixing with a little bit of humored shock. “I’m sorry, did you just bro nod me?” Caleb bursts out laughing. “You might as well be tackling me into the friend zone.”
“I’m definitely not doing that.” Caleb’s voice is soft as he reaches out his hand for Adam, who takes it and lets Caleb pull him into a kiss.
When they reluctantly part to breathe, Adam says, “Are you sure? I dunno, maybe I should kiss you again just to make sure you’re telling the truth.”
“Maybe you should.”
And he does, standing on his tiptoes and tilting his head up to capture Caleb’s lips in a kiss again. Caleb smiles into the kiss as the bubbly love feeling intensifies, and Caleb feels so happy he thinks he could die from it. It wouldn’t be the worst way to go, he decides.
“Okay, boys,” Dr. Bright says as she opens her office door, startling them apart. “You know I’m very happy that you boys are very much in love, but the path in front of my office is not the best make out spot.”
Adam’s dark skin reddens significantly, and Caleb knows he’s blushing too. “Sorry, Dr. Bright, we were just about to leave.”
“Tuxedo shopping for prom, right?” She has a knowing smile on her face, and Caleb can feel contentment pouring off her with a touch of pride sprinkled on top.
“Yep,” Adam replies, biting his lip to hide his smile. It’s one of his cutest habits. “I know he hates shopping, but I just can’t let him take me to prom in —“
“—his dad’s powder blue tux, yes, I heard,” Dr. Bright says with a soft laugh. “Well, I won’t keep you boys, then.”
“Bye, Dr. Bright!” Caleb says with a wave, and she waves back as she walks down the path ahead of them.
“We should get going, too,” Adam says, squeezing Caleb’s hand. “Our appointment is soon.”
Caleb’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “Appointment?”
“Mm hmm.” Adam nods. “I booked us a private appointment at the tuxedo store down the street. I thought, yaknow, that might make things easier for you. I hope that’s okay? I wasn’t sure but I didn’t want to lose the appointment…”
Adam trails off. Caleb just stares at Adam for a moment before finally replying once he feels Adam start to get nervous. “That sounds perfect. You’re perfect. God, I fucking love you.”
Adam’s eyes go wide, as if it’s the first time all over again. “I love you too,” he replies. “Ready?”
Caleb smiles. “Ready.”
———
Adam holds the door open for Caleb when they arrive at the tuxedo store, and Caleb lets out a sigh of relief when he sees that it is, in fact, empty. The relief doesn’t last long, though, because an employee notices them immediately and walks over to them, bringing his tense orange spikes of anxiety and stress with him. Caleb flinches when it hits him, and Adam, ever attentive, grabs his hand and squeezes, reminding Caleb to take deep breaths. When he glances over at Adam in thanks, Adam’s already smiling back at him, and after a moment, he leans up and kisses Caleb’s cheek.
“So, how can I help you two lovebirds today?” the most well-dressed man Caleb’s ever seen says, his hands clasped behind his back.
“Uh, we have an appointment. For a tuxedo fitting for prom,” Adam replies. Caleb feels a surge of something from Adam that he quickly parses as a thick mixture of disbelief, nerves, and exhilaration before it dissolves back into the usual blue. It hits Caleb all over again that for Adam, even speaking to Caleb is something he thought would only ever happen in his wildest dreams, let alone dating him and going to prom with him; Caleb’s next thought is that this all feels like a dream to him too, one that he’d never even considered having, but now that it’s happening, it’s nothing short of perfect.
“Names, please?” the man asks.
“Adam Hayes and Caleb Michaels.”
“Ah, of course, right this way.” He leads them to a selection of tuxedos on the left side of the store that had been set aside for prom season. “Feel free to try a few on and let me know when you’ve each decided so I can have them tailored for you.”
“Thank you!” Caleb calls to his receding back, and Adam chuckles.
They turn together to look at the selection, and this time it’s Caleb who has to squeeze Adam’s hand to keep him calm. His eyes pass over the selection and stop on one on a mannequin in the middle with a black jacket and pants, a shiny purple vest, and a crisp white button down. He lets go of Adam’s hand to walk up and closer look. He can see it now: him and Adam taking prom photos on his front lawn, him leading Adam into the venue and onto the dance floor, Adam leaning up and pressing a kiss to his lips as they slow dance —
“Hey, babe, you okay in there?” Adam’s voice snaps Caleb out of his dream and back to the tuxedo store, where Adam stands with a simple black and white suit gently folded over his arm.
“Wha— yes, yes I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Adam, I promise I’m okay,” Caleb repeated. “Just got lost in thought for a second.”
“Okay.” He pauses for a moment. “I’m excited to see you in your tux.”
Caleb furrows his brow. “Isn’t it a thing that we’re not supposed to see each other in our suits before we actually wear them?”
Adam bites his lip to hold back a laugh. “Babe, we’re not getting married! For fuck’s sake, we can see each other in our tuxes before prom. I actually insist on it; you think I trust your taste after you were seriously considering wearing your dad’s tux?”
Caleb blushes. “Hey, don’t insult my dad like that. It was technically in style when he went to prom.” They both giggle together a little bit too loudly, until the employees give them a mildly dirty look and they force themselves to calm down. Of course, it only makes them laugh harder, but eventually they’re able to pull themselves together. “Anyway. Yeah. Let’s try these on.”
They choose two fitting rooms next to each other. Caleb hangs his tux on the hook on the wall before slowly closing and locking the stall behind him and taking a deep breath. He remembers going suit shopping before the Sadie Hawkins dance and feeling a sense of dread, but now all he feels is joyful anticipation not only to put the tux on, but to see Adam in his. Actually, it’s more about seeing Adam in his tux, if Caleb’s being honest with himself, but still. He can’t believe how much has changed in just a little over a year.
Caleb pulls off his t-shirt and jeans and carefully puts on the suit, looking at himself in the mirror once he slides the jacket on. To his surprise, he smiles at himself in the mirror while running his hand through his hair out of habit. He feels Adam’s sparkly bright blue excitement from the stall next door, so he knocks on the wall softly and asks, “You ready?”
“Yep. Ready when you are.” Caleb can hear the smile on his boyfriend’s face, and he almost can’t stand it.
“Okay, count of three.”
“Really, Caleb?”
“Yes! Come on Adam. Have a little fun.”
“Fine, count us off.”
“Okay.” Caleb’s grinning like an idiot now, and he’s never been more grateful for the opaqueness of changing room walls. “One, two, three.”
On three, Caleb and Adam both push open their respective changing room doors and turn to face each other. Adam audibly gasps and Caleb’s jaw drops as he stares openly at his boyfriend. “Adam,” Caleb breathes. “Oh my fucking God.”
“Oh my God, Caleb, no, you look so incredible what the fuck how is this my life?” Adam replies, his usually flawless speech reduced to absolute rambling. But Caleb can barely enjoy the satisfaction of the effect he’s having on Adam because he’s too busy thinking about the tuxedo that Adam’s wearing. It doesn’t have a vest like Caleb’s, but it’s made out of fucking velvet, and Caleb is completely obsessed with how it looks on Adam.
After multiple minutes of the two of them just staring wide-eyed at each other, Caleb hears Adam mutter "fuck it” before pulling Caleb into one of the changing rooms, bracketing him up against the wall with his arms, and crashing their lips together before Caleb has a chance to breathe. There’s part of him that’s still aware he’s in public at a tuxedo shop in Boston, but that part of him is drowned out by the rest of him that is completely focused on Adam. Adam’s fingers tangle in his hair, his lips on Caleb’s neck, his other hand —
“Whoa, okay,” Caleb says, gently pushing Adam back by the shoulder. “As much as I would, fuck, as much as I would love to do so much of that right now, we are in public in tuxedos that we still have to pay a lot of money for.”
Adam smirks, his expression still the hazy one he gets when they’re making out complete with flushed red cheeks and dark eyes he could get lost in forever. Caleb can’t get over just how gorgeous his boyfriend looks like this. “Well that’s easy enough to solve,” Adam says. “We can just take these off.”
Caleb groans loudly. “Adam, what the fuck, no! Where the hell is valedictorian Adam right now?”
“Valedictorian Adam has left the building. You have drunk in love Adam now, and he only cares about one thing.” Adam shakes his head, unable to take himself seriously. “Seriously, you look hot. I mean, you always look hot, but you look hot.”
“Wow, so eloquent,” Caleb replies, moving Adam’s hands off of his hips so he can smooth the suit out. “I don’t know about you, but I love both of these tuxes, so let’s go pay before something happens to them.”
———
Caleb’s doorbell rings five minutes before he told Adam to arrive, which means Adam is right on schedule. His mom answers the door before he has the chance to run downstairs; he can feel the nerves and desire to impress his mother radiating from Adam, but it’s not enough to cover up her pride and adoration. Caleb runs down the stairs, buttoning his sleeves as he goes, and leans in to whisper in Adam’s ear. “Relax, she loves you.”
“I would argue with you, but I know your superpower would prove me wrong, so why bother,” Adam whispers back. Caleb laughs. Neither of them can keep the smiles off their faces.
“You two can come inside, you know,” Caleb’s mother says; Caleb honestly had forgotten that she was still standing there.
“Right, yeah, we’re coming, Mom,” Caleb mumbles, taking Adam’s hand and leading him inside.
“When are Caitlin and her date going to be here? You know, I’m really glad that you all managed to stay close even after everything that happened.”
“Yeah, me too, Mom. She’ll be here in a minute or two, she’s very punctual.” As if on cue, the bell rings again, and Caleb opens it to reveal Caitlin and her date, a guy named Andrew from her math class.
“This is Andrew. Andrew, Caleb and Adam. Caleb and Adam, Andrew.”
“Caitlin, relax, just have fun. It’s good to see you, you look nice,” Adam says. And he’s right, she does. She’s wearing a pink sparkly high-low dress with pink high heels and white flowers braided into her hair, and it’s not something he would have ever expected to see her wear, but he has to admit that it suits her.
“Thank you, you do too,” she replies before turning to Caleb. “Well, this is a little different from the last time we went to a school dance together, isn’t it?”
Caleb laughs. “Fuck, you’re so right.” It takes him a moment to realize he hasn’t invited them in yet, so he does, and his mom positions them in that super cliche prom pose he always sees all over social media every single year. He can’t even be mad about it, though, because as he rests his hands at Adam’s waist, he feels five people’s worth of bubbly joy hit him all at once. Normally, that many people feeling the same emotion all at once would be way too overwhelming, but tonight, it’s not, so Caleb lets himself bask in the soft warmth of it all.
Once his mom has taken as many photos as her phone has the space for and gone through the whole “my son is so grown up!” cliché mom thing as Adam rolled his eyes and looped his arm around Caleb’s back, Caleb finally waves goodbye to his parents and leads Adam, Caitlin, and Andrew to his car. He holds the passenger side door open for Adam, who gives him a big smile as he closes it softly before walking around to the driver’s seat and sliding in. Once everyone’s seatbelts are on, Caleb starts the car and one of the playlists that Adam made for him immediately starts playing through the speakers. It’s one of the sappier ones, because of course it is, and Caleb blushes as he reaches to switch to something else, but Adam grabs his wrist to stop him, whispering, “It’s okay, babe, leave it on.” Caleb nods and pulls out of the driveway.
The glow of happiness from Adam only intensifies as they get closer and closer to the venue, and Caleb even hears him singing along softly to the playlist as Caitlin and Andrew chat in the backseat.
———
The second Caleb’s car is in park, he scrambles out of the car to get around to Adam’s side so he can open the door for him, and Andrew does the same for Caitlin. The second Adam is fully standing, he grabs Caleb’s hand and gives it a squeeze, and Caleb never wants to let go.
The parking lot is fairly empty (Caitlin had insisted they get there as early as possible), but as they walk up the steps and approach the large double doors, Caleb can feel the emotions of everyone inside all at once — all nerves, excitement, and love. He lets go of Adam’s hand so he can bring both hands up to cover his ears with them; even though he knows it doesn’t do a single thing to help, it’s all he can think to do.
“Caleb?” Adam’s voice breaks through the shield and reaches Caleb’s ears, and he turns to his boyfriend with fear and guilt in his eyes. “Caleb, look at me. Take a deep breath, just like Dr. Bright said. In, out. In, out.”
Caleb does as Adam instructs while Adam tells Caitlin and Andrew to go in ahead of them, and after a few moments Caleb lowers his hands to his sides again, reuniting his left hand with Adam’s right. Adam squeezes his hand. “Remember, babe, I’m here to keep you green.”
“Thank you. I… I’m so sorry, Adam. You deserve a better night than this. I just can’t get it together enough to deal with my stupid classmates all at once, and I —“
“No, Caleb, don’t apologize,” Adam says, cutting off Caleb’s self-deprecating monologue. “It’s okay. At least it’ll be mostly good feelings tonight, right? And if you ever feel like it’s too much, let me know and we can leave, okay? You matter more to me than some stupid prom,” Adam says, and Caleb knows he means every word of it.
“I’ll be fine,” he replies. “I wouldn’t want to ruin this night for you.”
Adam shakes his head, grinning. “Gosh, you dork, it’s already perfect and it’s more than enough, it’s more than I even dared to dream about. Don’t worry about me.”
“I thought you were the dork,” Caleb teases, feeling more like himself again.
“You’re a dork sometimes too. Come on, let’s head inside.”
They walk through the doors and check in at the table in the lobby before heading into the main room and finding the table that Caitlin and Andrew had found and saved for them. A Top 40 hit blasts out of the speakers and a bunch of students are dancing in the middle of the room, but most are chatting with friends and grabbing appetizers. Caleb is still adjusting to the emotions in the room, so he sinks into a chair at the table, Adam taking the one next to him. He’s content to just stare at Adam for a few moments, the velvet tuxedo and purple bow tie that he’d picked out to match Caleb’s vest and pocket square somehow even cuter on him than when they’d first gone shopping.
Adam catches him staring and stands, leaning in to kiss Caleb on the cheek. “I’m going to grab us some mini hot dogs, okay?” Caleb nods, watching Adam walk across the room. A couple of their classmates stop Adam to say hi, and the shocked look on his face and the feeling that comes with it just makes Caleb fall in love with him all over again. He’d never looked forward to prom before the way the rest of the school did, but once Adam entered his life, he’d suddenly begun counting down the days. Not for himself, though; he just wanted to make this night as perfect as possible for Adam, for both of them together.
He gets an idea.
———
They’re just finishing up their main course meal when Caleb hears it, and he breaks into a grin.
“What?” Adam asks, confused.
Caleb just points to the speakers. “Listen.” He watches Adam’s face as he tilts his head to hear better, and he knows that the opening chords of ABBA’s “Super Trouper” have reached his ears when Adam’s whole face lights up.
“Caleb, oh my fucking God,” he says, covering his face. “How did you do this?”
“Asked the DJ while you were up getting food.” Caleb gently pulls Adam's hands away from his face. “Come on, come dance with me.”
He can feel the confusion from his classmates, but he doesn’t care about any of it as he pulls Adam onto the dance floor and lifts their arms to twirl him around. Adam looks nervous, so Caleb starts singing along, probably making a huge fool of himself, and Adam laughs and visibly relaxes. “You’re ridiculous,” Adam says.
“You love it,” Caleb replies, twirling him again.
By this point, they’re not alone on the dance floor anymore, and as the song ends, Caleb’s eyes lock with Adam as the last “somewhere in the crowd there’s you” rings out.
———
They’re a few hours into prom now. The food is pretty much all gone, and Caleb can tell that some people in the room are more than a little drunk; thankfully not enough for them to get him drunk too, but enough that it’s noticeable.
Caleb, Adam, Caitlin, and Andrew had just sat back down after a few of their favorite songs played in a row when the music fades out. Caleb looks up to see Principal Stevens standing at the front of the room with the microphone in his hand.
“Okay, everyone, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the crowning of this year’s prom king and queen.” He unfolds the first slip of paper in his hand. “This year’s prom queen… is Caitlin Park!”
Caitlin stands and waves as she walks up to accept her crown. Adam cheers extra loud, and Caitlin rolls her eyes at him.
Principal Stevens unfolds the second slip of paper. “And this year’s prom king… is Caleb Michaels!”
Everyone in the room is cheering, especially the three people sitting with him, but Caleb is so surprised he doesn’t hear any of it.
“Babe, go!” Adam says, pushing Caleb out of his seat.
“That’s my boyfriend!” Caleb hears Adam shout as he approaches Caitlin and Principal Stevens on the dance floor.
“Principal Stevens, what’s going on? I didn’t even run, I didn’t even think we did this stuff here!” Caleb says.
Principal Stevens just shrugs with a smile. “You must be pretty well liked, Caleb,” he says as explanation, placing the sparkly plastic crown on Caleb’s head.
“You are,” Caitlin adds. “People really think highly of you, Caleb. Just enjoy this. You deserve it.”
“Ready to dance?” Principal Stevens asks them, and Caleb and Caitlin both realize in that moment that being crowned prom king and queen means they have to dance. Together. In front of everyone.
Thankfully, Caitlin reacts quickly. “Actually, Principal Stevens, would it be alright if we each just danced with our dates instead?”
“Would that be okay with you, Caleb?” Caleb nods. “Well, if that’s what you both prefer, then it’s totally fine with me.”
The music starts, and Caleb feels a tap on his shoulder. He spins around to see Adam, gorgeous as ever, in a mock bow with his arm out to Caleb. “May I have this dance, Your Majesty?”
Caleb grins and holds his head high. “You may.”
Caleb rests his hands on Adam’s shoulders as Adam’s hands loop around Caleb’s waist and he presses his face into Caleb’s chest. They sway back and forth together, and for those few minutes, it’s like they’re really alone in the universe, just like they always dreamed.
“Hey,” Adam says, bringing them back to reality when the song changes to a more upbeat one. “Thanks for being my Super Trouper.”
“Anytime,” Caleb replies softly.