(A/N: Sorry I haven't been publishing much. I'm focusing on life more and taking care of myself. I'm very late to Valentines but meh)
❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜you
𝚈/𝚗'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅
"Tomorrow marks the maidens' festival, Valentines Day. Y/n, are you ready?" Emma turned to me.
"What do you mean by that? Are you asking if I have chocolates?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.
"Let me rephrase...are you mentally prepared?" Emma rephrased her words, making the rest of the girls sigh.
"For what?" Gillian asked, resting her hand on her hip. Right now, all of the girls we're are friends with are gathered together.
"Prepared to give him chocolate, of course! Half-hearted feelings won't be able to reach him!" Emma raised her fist in the air.
"I see. So, what kind of ribbon are you all going to be decorating it with?" Sonya questioned everyone.
"You're concerned about the ribbon, not the chocolate?" Paula questioned, tilting her head to the side.
"You're not makin' a lot a sense, ya know that, right?" Barbara sighed, sitting on top of Y/n's table.
"There are quite a few, cute wrapping ribbons out there." I mentioned, but Violet recommended that I think bigger.
It seems like the other girls understood what Violet meant by that, since they all turned to each other and nodded.
"Y/n, what you have to prepare is...you wrapped in ribbons with chocolate lipstick on your lips!" Emma pointed at me.
"It should be the kind of ribbon that says, 'It's embarrassing but...I'm your gift!'." Gillian joined in.
"Then, you give 'em a big smooch on the lips." Barbara teased, blowing a kiss in my direction.
"Hah? Absolutely not." I retorted, an irk mark forming on my forehead. It's quite narcissistic and it's truly embarrassing.
"I'll be handling the chocolate lipstick. It shouldn't be too hard to make." Paula volunteered.
"I'll buy the ribbon. I'll try to get one that'll really catch Ray's eyes. Probably red or purple...or maybe even green." Violet offered as well.
"Should we experiment on different kinds of chocolates and figure out which one would Ray prefer?" Sonya asked.
"I already said, absolutely not!" I yelled. There's absolutely no way I'm going to be wrapped in a ribbon and tell him I'm his present. That's absurd.
"W-We'll stop with the jokes then." Emma nervously laughed.
"Hol' up, that was a joke?" Barbara turned to Emma with a shocked expression.
"Anyways, now begins the real part! Y/n, I've actually brought you a love potion!" Gillian held the object high in the air.
"Is that real?" Paula and Sonya both questioned, raising a brow. They didn't seem to think it's real. Neither do I.
"But isn't it bad to toy with another person's feelings? Then again, there are always exceptions for those few occasions..." Emma rambled.
Toying with another person's feelings is indeed indecent. As much as possible, I would like to avoid that.
"Y/n, if you use this, even the stoic Ray...will finally be average!" Gillian yelled. Finally be average?
"Don't do it." Violet shook her head disapprovingly.
"I wasn't planning to." I replied. This crushed almost everyone's hearts the moment those words came out of my mouth.
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"Are you all going to go buy ingredients for the chocolate now?" Paula questioned.
"Yeah. What about you girls?" Sonya turned to each and every one of us.
"Oh, how about we use the ingredients from my mother's bakery? She just texted me that she knew I was going to need it." I mentioned.
"Actually, we don't want to trouble you guys, so we're going to buy our own ingredients...I'll feel bad, to be honest." Gillian sighed.
"Then how about we buy our own ingredients and meet up at the bakery?" Violet suggested.
"Sounds like a plan!" Emma cheered.
"I'm down." Barbara said.
"Hey! Are you girls going to buy some chocolate? Do you mind if we join?" Gilda ran towards us with Anna behind her.
"The more, the merrier." Sonya smiled. We then walked to the nearest convenience store.
"Gilda, what kind of chocolate are you going to make?" I inquired. I have a hunch that she'll give it to Don, duh.
"Hm, Chocolate mousse, probably." Gilda replied, rubbing her chin, as if she was deep in thought.
"Oh, you're making a cake?" Paula seemed quite shocked. I don't blame her. Making cake for someone must take quite a lot of effort.
"Our lovestruck maiden even took Don's dislike of chocolate into account." Emma teased.
"Don doesn't like chocolate?" Anna asked.
"He mentioned it once." she mumbled. We all waited for her to continue, just staring at her as if we were dogs watching our owner on the toilet.
"He's okay with chocolate-flavored sweets, but not with plain chocolate." Gilda stated. That's quite specific.
"Ehh..." we all said in unison, smirking at her. It seems she has fallen for him.
"Wh-What?" Gilda huffed.
"You totally like Don." Anna stated the obvious.
"And you totally like Nat!" Gilda pointed at her, as if she was accusing her for a crime.
We entered the convenience store and made our way to my home.
"The chocolate and fresh cream were almost sold out." Anna sighed in relief.
"Don't ya think we bought kinda like a lot a chocolate?" Barbara asked, peeking into the grocery bags.
"Do you want me to hold some for you?" I offered. She shook her head, telling me that she was strong enough and that carrying grocery bags were nothing to her.
"There's nothing wrong with having too much." Emma shrugged.
"By the way, Y/n, who are you going to give yours to this year?" Violet asked.
"I'm going to give it to all the boys I know, including you girls, as a thanks for looking after me." I answered.
"That's what I thought you would say, Y/n." we heard. We turned around to see Ayshe, a fellow classmate of mine.
She's the loner in the class. We would sometimes invite her to have lunch with us, but she would often skip class.
"Ah, greetings, Ayshe. Would you like to join us?" I offered. She tilted her head to the side.
"We're going to go to Y/n's bakery and make some chocolate for tomorrow." Barbara elaborated.
"Sure." she replied. Ayshe and I share one thing in common. We can both speak French. Norman's almost fluent despite learning it for only 2 weeks.
"How about you, Gillian? Who are you going to give yours to?" Ayshe asked, turning to Gillian.
"Hm, not telling." Gillian mumbled, averting her gaze. Well, not like we even have to ask to know.
All of us, including Ayshe now, started making our way to my bakery. I believe mom's out again with her homegirls.
"What about you, Barbara? You haven't bought anything." Gilda pointed out. Is Barbara even planning to make any chocolates?
"Didn't you say you had something you needed to buy?" Violet recalled.
"It's quite hard to find in stores, though..." Barbara sighed.
"What are you trying to make?" Anna asked. I have a horrible feeling about this. She's definitely planning something terrible.
"Well, it's boring to make it normally, so it'll be a surprise chocolate!" Barbara grinned.
"What are you putting in it?" Paula asked.
"Something horrible, that's for sure." I mumbled.
"You're not allowed to use alcohol." Ayshe reminded.
"Um...a frog?" Barbara answered, saying it as if it wasn't a horrible act.
"Why are you using a frog?!" Emma shrieked. I knew it wasn't going to be good. If Barbara is making chocolate, don't expect it to be any kind of 'normal' chocolate.
"It's for the surprise effect." Barbara reminded.
"That'll just be a nasty trick." Sonya sighed.
"No, frog meat has a similar texture to tender chicken breast. It shouldn't be bad at all." Gillian mentioned.
"You've tried it before?" Ayshe asked. Gillian stated that it's just something she heard of.
"Chicken breasts don't go well with chocolate, you know." I retorted. Just imagine that...gross.
"We should go back soon and get ready. If Barbara's doing Barbara things, we can't do anything about it." Violet ushered.
"You're right. We should hurry." I agreed. Barbara stated that she'll be a little late, since she'll have to look for...frog meat a little longer.
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"Don't you think everthing feels so much more lively now that it's almost Valentine's Day?" I brought up.
"So sweet, so heart-pounding, and heartbreaking." Emma ruined the lively atmosphere.
"However, that light-hearted atmosphere is just a ruse. Valentine's Day is actually a battle royale!" Gillian stated.
"A b-battle royale?" Gilda repeated with a stutter. I could already hear the sound of bones breaking, just like when Emma broke her knee once.
"It's nothing more than a fierce fight over receiving chocolate." Emma sighed. Those two share the same brain cell.
"Sounds pretty amazing." Violet sarcastically remarked.
"I doubt Valentine's Day is such a bloodthirsty affair..." Anna sweatdropped.
"With that kind of weak attitude, you'll only be able to make weak chocolate!" Gillian shouted.
"My attitude will affect my chocolate?" Anna repeated. Is there even a way to make strong chocolate? Do we take our chocolates to the gym?
"I'm here~" Barbara sang as she dropped some kind of evil-looking grocery bag on the table.
"Welcome back!" we all exclaimed in unison.
"Y/n, what kind of chocolate are you going to make?" Gilda asked, approaching me.
"Perhaps chocolate covered strawberries. I'll just add a few designs with some frosting." I answered.
"Oh, right. Ray also isn't a fan of plain chocolate like Don." Anna recalled. Emma came over to us.
"I'm gonna make some chocolate cookies. Just in case I get turned down, I can snack on them later." Emma chuckled.
"As if you're gonna get rejected. You're quite popular among the jocks." Gilda argued.
"What are you going to make, Anna?" I inquired. Gilda's planning on making chocolate mousse, I wonder what will Anna make.
"Me? I'm planning to..." she paused when we could hear someone snickering to herself in the corner.
The five of us turned to the sound to see Barbara mixing something in the mixing bowl, using a whisk.
In our eyes, she looked like a witch making a mysterious potion inside her cauldron.
"Barbara, what on Earth are you making?" Violet shrieked, noticing how devilish she looked.
"Huh? I'm making chocolate, of course. What else would I be doing?" Barbara nonchalantly answered.
"That's not what it looked like." Violet sweatdropped.
"Speaking of chocolates, there are many kinds other than romantic and obligatory chocolates." Sonya mentioned.
"You mean friendship chocolates?" Paula guessed. There's such a thing? Well, I guess there should be.
"It goes by another name...friend-eating chocolate!" Gillian exclaimed.
"That sounds scary!" Anna commented.
"There's no such thing, Gillian." Paula retorted.
"Do you want to take a bite out of my chocolate?" Gillian offered, holding up some raw chocolate.
"I'm not sure if that's what you really mean." Violet sighed.
"This isn't even about friendship anymore..." I sighed. We now began to work.
"Y/n, you're quite popular among both boys and girls in our school, right?" Ayshe approached me, speaking in French.
"Am I really?" I chuckled, speaking to her in French as well. I understand boys, but girls, too?
"I guess you haven't seen the stares you get from behind." she sighed. Well, I can't twist my head to turn around, now can I?
"It's because you're so kind. You're always their crying shoulder. It's only natural for them to start crushing." Ayshe reasoned.
"My, is that so?" I replied.
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"Good morning, Ray." I greeted when I saw Ray running to his locker. He must've woken up late. He probably read a book in the middle of the night.
"G-Good morning." he stuttered, opening his locker and quickly changing his shoes.
I smiled before turning to my locker, getting ready to open it. Before I did, I took out a paper bag from my school bag.
"What's with the paper bag?" he asked. I ignored his question and decided to show it to him.
I opened the locker and a bunch of chocolate gifts and love letters poured out of it. It's only Valentine's Day, meaning, only girls gave these gifts.
"I-I see..." he sweatdropped. Valentine's Day is one of my favorite days although it's just quite tiring.
I won't be able to spend too much time with my friends, since I'll have to deal with confessions. I also need to read the love letters.
Of course, I could always not show up and I can throw away the letters, but people put their feelings into these, I don't want to hurt them.
After all, it takes a lot of courage to admit your feelings to the person you want to be with.
"You're the sweetest person I know. That time my skirt ripped, you were there to sew it back together, even though everyone laughed." the girl before me spoke.
"Ever since then, I couldn't take my eyes off of you. So..." she paused, fidgeting and playing with the hems of her skirt.
"Please go out with me, Y/n!" she screamed, bowing, and handing me a letter with a heart sticker.
"Mai, it breaks my heart to say this, but I don't really know how to put this but...it's not that-" I got cut off.
"Could you possibly be in love with someone else?" she immediately asked. In love with someone?
"Absurd. I have duties to fulfill, there is no need for romance." I replied, she didn't seem convinced.
"It's the President, right?!" she asked, grabbing both of my hands. Whoa, that's a bit too close.
"The President? You mean Norman?!" I gasped.
"Yeah! You're always hanging around him and-" I cut her off and gently took my hands back..
"No, it's nothing of the sort. I don't mean to be harsh, but could you please not touch me?" I demanded.
"I'll say it once and I won't say it again, I appreciate your letter and confession, but I'm afraid I'll have to turn it down." I repeated.
"Have a lovely day, Mai." I bid her farewell before walking away. I could hear her soft sobbing from behind me.
I felt so bad, but I can't lie to her and say that I love her back even though I don't. That'll just hurt her even more.
"Ray?" I stammered when I saw Ray just crouched down once I had turned the corner. He froze and just stayed in the same position.
"D-Don't get the wrong idea! I wasn't listening in on your conversation or anything. I just happened to uhm...find an interesting ant and thought I should examine it." Ray panicked.
"You're lying." I pointed out, pinching his cheeks.
We then walked back to our class and saw a mountian of chocolates on our desks, including Norman and Emma's.
I poured the chocolates into my paper bag while Ray dumped them in his bags. I'm assuming he won't even read the love letters.
I think that's for the best. Knowing him, he'll just crush the poor girl's heart without even flinching or giving it a second thought.
"Y-Y/n!" I heard someone squeak from behind me. I turned around and saw that Ayshe had stood up from her desk.
"Um, I made-" she was going to come over to me until she tripped on the legs of her table.
She ended up falling face first onto the floor. Everyone in class snickered and whispered amongst themselves, most likely making fun of Ayshe.
"A-Ayshe! Are you okay?" I called out, standing up and bending down, my hand came in contact with something.
Looking down, I spotted a demon-shaped cookie. I looked at the small packaging and realized that all of it had spilled.
"I-I'm sorry." she apologized, her face was beet red, most likely from embarrassment.
"Ayshe, you made cookies for me, thank you." I thanked her, popping the cookie in my mouth and eating it.
The one that I had grabbed was on top of the plastic packaging with a f/c ribbon, so it should still be clean.
"They're delicious." I complimented. I could literally see the tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
After that incident, I took her to the infirmary since she had a small scrape from falling.
"Ah, Oliver, Zack!" I called out once I had spotted the two of them. Oliver seemed to be talking to Zack about mythology and other stuff.
"Oh, Y/n, what is it?" Zack asked. Oliver's face matched the red streak of his hair once he saw me.
"Happy Valentine's Day. If you don't mind, please accept these." I handed them the box that should contain chocolate covered strawberries.
"Thank you. We'll surely enjoy them. Right, Oliver?" Zack punched Oliver at the side of his stomach.
"Thanks..." Oliver mumbled, fiddling with his thumb. At least they accepted it, that's good enough for me.
I've already placed the boxes of chocolate under Norman, Zazie, Cislo, and Vincent's desk.
I passed by a room and saw Gillian shoving the box of chocolates at Nigel before running out the room.
As classes continued, the day quickly ended and it was time for the Student Council to gather once more.
As I pass by the faculty, I could see a heart-shaped box on Mr. Sonju's desk. It had a purple ribbon with a demon sticker. It's obviously from Ms. Mujika.
From the window leading to the plaza, I could see Mr. Leslie and Ms. Isabella spending their time together.
When I had finally arrived, I held onto the door knob and I was going to open it until someone pressed something on top of my head.
I looked up and turned around to see Mr. Yuugo, my Social Studies teacher, with a folder rested on top of my head.
"Ey, kid, when entering a room, you ain't gon' open it like a normal person, got it? You gotta kick it down like a madman!" he smirked.
"In the count of 3, we gon' kick the door down like a madman...or madwoman." he corrected.
He counted to three and we kicked the door down. Everyone inside just stared at us in shock.
"That's how ya do it. Goodluck with work, kiddo." he ruffled my hair before leaving. I could hear some yelling once I shut the door behind me.
"You'll never catch me alive!" we heard. We all just glanced at each other awkwardly.
I'm guessing someone caught him teaching me to kick the door, even though that's what I usually do.
"Get back here, Mr. Yuugo!" someone yelled. It sounded like the principal, Principal Sarah.
Some of the children call her, 'Grandma', since she's at the appropriate age to be called that.
"Frick ya too, you old hag of a principal!" Mr. Yuugo yelled back until we heard the sound of glass shattering.
"Did Mr. Yuugo...just jump out of the window?" Vincent asked, pushing his glasses up as he stopped typing in his laptop.
'Most likely. That's what Mr. Yuugo would do. He's one of the chaotic teachers, after all.', that's what's written on Zazie's little whiteboard.
It also had a chibi Mr. Yuugo in the corner of the whiteboard. Zazie's drawings are getting lovelier and lovelier as each day passed.
"And now, I present to the boys of the Student Council my chocolates!" Barbara cheered, changing the topic. Oh no...
"Here, Vincent, Zazie, Cislo, and Prez!" she handed the small, jute, pouch bag to each of them.
"These are from me. Try them!" she mentioned. I wanted to stop her, but I wanted to see their reactions, too.
"Did you make them yourself? That's new." Norman remarked. They opened it up and popped one in their mouth. I watched them, anticipating for their reactions.
"By the way, they're surprise chocolates." I mentioned. At least I could warn them before they actually eat it. They all froze when I said that.
"I'm regretting popping them in my mouth without thinking twice." Cislo commented, not bothering to chew any further.
"What a coincidence. Me too." Vincent agreed. I feel so bad for them, but it's quite funny.
"I put in some frog meat as a secret ingredient. Just a bit." Barbara stated. Once they heard, 'frog meat', they immediately spat it out.
"Yoy really went ahead with it." I sighed. She grinned and declared that her surprise was a success.
"You didn't expect that, did you?" Barbara evilly snickered.
'As if anyone would!', that's what was written on the whiteboard. I chuckled and made my way to Norman.
"Norman, are you feeling okay?" I worried. Will he get sick from this the next day or something?
"I didn't think I'd be fed frog on Valentine's." Norman sighed. I don't think anyone does.
"But it tasted pretty good, right? I put a lot of effort in that, ya know." Barbara grinned.
"As if we'd care about the taste!" Vincent angrily retorted.
"Do you know how much trouble I went through to get the frog meat?" Barbara sighed.
"Remember this on White Day! As payback, I'll be putting pig's feet in your marshmallows!" Cislo yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Barbara.
"How could you do that to a drop dead gorgeous young lady, you monster?!" Barbara furiously yelled back.
"Huh?! Giving frog-filled chocolates to an innocent boy is even worse!" Cislo argued back.
"An innocent boy wouldn't even consider pig's feet!" Barbara retorted.
"The innocence would come from hiding it in the marshmallows!" he retorted back.
"You're still assuming you're an innocent boy!" she pointed out.
"There's no point if you reveal it to her." Vincent grumbled, rubbing his temples.
And so their bickering continued for the rest of the day...
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"Ah, Ray. Hold up. Before you go, I have something I wanted to give you." I called out to him before scavenging my bag.
"What is it?" he asked turning around with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He seemed kinda grumpy. Well, when is he not?
"Happy Valentine's Day." I greeted, grabbing his hand and placing the box of chocolate covered strawberries.
"Happy Valentine's" a small smile appeared on his face as he took it. Once he noticed he was smiling, he immediately tried to cover it up.
"I'm only accepting this because I'd feel bad if I didn't." he huffed. He's lying, as always.
"Whatever you say." I sighed, not even bothering to point out that I knew he was lying. I'll just have to use my Tsundere translator.
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