Eternal Sunshine

Chapter Twenty

"Still haven't figured out how to ask Nine to the masquerade yet?" Benz asked as he joined Leo and Fluke in the living room.

Fluke chuckled as they looked up from the book they were reading while Leo rubbed his hand over his face, letting out a sigh.

"I've been looking for weeks. Every idea I've come across is too over-the-top."

"You did promise him it would be dramatic."

"Yeah, I'm starting to regret that."

"The masquerade is this weekend, and our final classes of the semester are tomorrow," Fluke pointed out. "You no longer have time to be picky. Either pick one of the over-the-top options or admit defeat and ask him again in a boring way."

Leo groaned, looking around the room as if some kind of inspiration would come from its walls. Eventually, Leo's eyes landed on Benz's guitar, an idea forming in his head.

"Benz? How willing are you to let me borrow your guitar?"

Fluke slammed their book shut, cutting off whatever response Benz was about to give.

"Absolutely not," Fluke exclaimed.

"Why not?"

"Leo, I swear, if you pull out a guitar and start singing to Nine, I'm going to grab it from your hands and smash it over your head. We are better than that."

Leo opened his mouth to argue, but decided against it.

"Then I've got nothing."

Benz gave Leo a sympathetic pat on the back before turning on the television. As much as Leo hated it, admitting defeat was his only option. He hopes Nine won't be too disappointed.

"Where are they?" Del asked as she got off the bus the following morning with Nine and Maze, seeing that Leo, Fluke and Benz were not waiting in their normal spot.

Nine was wondering the same thing, double checking his phone in case Leo had messaged him. Nothing.

Maze looked down at his watch. "Our bus arrived a little early. We might have beat them here."

"Let's go wait in the courtyard," Del suggested, and with a slight nod, Nine followed after her and Maze.

Nine grew anxious as the minutes ticked by with no sign of Leo anywhere. Then his phone dinged.

"Where are you?" the message read.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Nine replied, "In the courtyard."

A moment later, Leo came into view, Fluke and Benz a step behind him. Nine quickly became aware of Leo holding a hand behind his back.

"Where have the three of you been?" Nine asked, trying to sneak a peek at what Leo was hiding.

"It's kind of your fault, actually," Fluke said, stepping closer to Maze, who reached out to hold Fluke's hand.

"How so?"

"Because I needed to stop by a couple places on the way here," Leo explained. "It took longer than I was expecting."

"And we even left early, too," Benz added.

Feeling heat rise in his cheeks, Leo held out what he had been hiding behind his back to Nine. A single red rose and a tiny blue gift bag, with a plain white card sticking out of the bag.

Suppressing a smile, Nine took the items from Leo, opening the card first.

"Be my date?" was inscribed on the card in neat handwriting.