Vivian is still furious during the next club meeting, but surprisingly not with me. Instead of the club room, we're in the gym hall decorating for prom, a work Carlos and Duncan unsuccessfully tried passing to the freshmen of the student council.
"The Christmas prom is our prom," Johnny told them, "We want to prove ourselves to the student council, not lean on them for help."
So here we are after classes ended, decorating the gym hall with long snowflake garlands, white curtains, fake snow spray and whatnots. Vivian joined me in preparing the tables, and while I feared she'll dice me with a butter knife, she simply gives me a sad smile.
"I heard you talking," Vivian tells me and starts folding napkins rapidly, "I know it's not your fault. Logan has to be delusional as hell to think you'll leave Matthew for him. I told you at the shooting, you guys look really cute together."
Vivian looks like she's trying her hardest for a neutral face, but her shoulders are slumped and there are dark circles around her eyes. Her hands are slightly shaking, but she produces beautiful napkin swans and snowflakes nevertheless. Meanwhile I try to remember any of the tutorials I watched, while secretly covering Vivian's every move.
"I'm really sorry, Vivian," I say, "I had no idea what he -"
"It's not your fault," Vivian repeats sternly and shakes her head, "Don't worry about it. Logan and I are so over, and that's it."
"Logan and you are over?" Liling screams through half the gym hall and drops a long garland in progress, "What are you talking about?"
Instantly, all eyes are on her and Logan, who looks pretty pitiful from atop a huge Christmas tree.
I don't think this is the way Vivian wanted everyone to know. She makes a distressed face and massages her temples.
"I broke up with him, that's what I'm talking about."
There's a silence where everyone tries to process what Vivian just said. The first one to react is Carlos, who probably knew what was up long ago since Kaia was not so successful in secretly hinting around.
"Good job," Carlos tells Vivian with a serious expression and even goes to pat her shoulder, "Really. You're too good for him anyway."
"What the hell?" Logan says with hands full of decorations, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Cheer up Viv," Matthew says from where he's busy with complicated looking set-ups, "Don't let this drag you down."
"Want to go to the prom with me instead?" Duncan asks, "Now that you're free, I mean."
Vivian makes a face. "Thank you, Duncan."
"Vivian, I'm sorry for your break-up," Johnny calls from his pretty risky stand on top of a ladder, "Don't let it affect your work though, we can't afford anyone slacking off so close to the prom."
Agatha walks over to us and places a strawberry milk carton in front of Vivian. "I'm really sorry, Vivian. I hope you're okay."
Vivian nods with a very stern expression. Logan looks completely defeated.
"What is this?" he protests and almost topples over his Christmas tree, "Why is everyone comforting her? You don't even know what happened!"
"I don't need to know what happened to know you fucked up," Carlos tells him.
Kaia sends a quick glance in my direction, before she also goes up to Vivian and takes her hand.
"Everything will be okay, you'll see," Kaia says, "Who needs boys anyway?"
Vivian chuckles and shakes her head. "You're right."
"Wait wait wait," Liling calls from where she's still freaking out, now completely tangled up in garlands, "You're serious? You really broke up with Logan?"
Matthew, who's holding the other end of the garland, sighs and tries to untangle Liling, but fails spectacularly with the way she's throwing her hands in the air and stomps her feet. He looks over his shoulder and sends me an exasperated look and I wink at him.
"I did," Vivian reassures Liling and plays with the milk carton, "It's no big deal, really."
"No big deal?" Liling echoes and looks close to fainting, "What do you mean, no big deal? You guys were our first council couple! You made me believe in true love! I was your number one supporter!"
Logan nods in unison with her words, determined expression on his face, but Vivian doesn't even pay him any attention.
"You were?"
"Absolutely!" Liling shakes her head and her long black curls are flying, "I can't believe it, I seriously can't! This like the biggest shock of the year, bigger than you guys dating in the first place, bigger than Matthew and June being a thing, bigger than Duncan asking me out for prom -"
"Duncan asked you out for prom?" Carlos turns his head so fast he almost snaps his neck, "Are you shitting me - what? When? What did you say?"
Liling looks surprised and furrows her brows. She tilts her head, as if it's seriously hard to remember, and then shrugs.
"I declined of course."
"WHAT?" Carlos screams, but he's not alone. My jaw drops, Matthew throws his arms in the air, Kaia stares at them in pure shock and even Agatha's eyes widen drastically.
"I told you guys," Vivian says. Johnny looks just as pleased.
"Wait, why is this such a big deal?" Liling laughs and tugs on the garland, "I already told you, I don't like to decide too soon."
"The prom is on frigging Friday!" Carlos looks seriously unnerved, "Liling, how long do you want to wait? Duncan is all ready for you, take him, now!"
Duncan makes a face. "Dude, shut up. I only asked her as a joke anyway."
"Is that so?" Liling crosses her arms and huffs, "Well, then I'm even more glad I declined. Because remember who also asked me? Aaron Steinberg. And he's hot."
"Liling," Carlos wails, "Do you understand what you're saying?"
Matthew drops her in the tangled mess that is the snowflake garlands, and goes to slump down on a chair next to me.
"Fifty bucks," he says and sounds slightly panicked, "Gonna admit it now. I can't lose fifty bucks June, I still need to buy you a Christmas present."
"Oh, you do?" I smile and poke his cheek, "Sweet."
"I can't believe this," Matthew sighs exaggeratedly and shakes his head, "I never lost a bet against Vivian or Johnny. They're usually so bad at predicting things."
I laugh and pat his head. There's a slight panic inside me though, since I also have quite some money on the line. Goodbye to Christmas pancakes brunch, goodbye to the cute blue scarf I spotted, goodbye to -
"Wait, but did we just brush off something really important?" Liling calls out and shoots a glare at Logan, who nearly falls off the Christmas tree, "Say, why did you break up? Was it your fault, Logan?"
"Why are you all assuming that?" he protests and holds tightly onto the tree.
"Oh, so you're saying it's not your fault?" Vivian snorts, "Funny, I remember something entirely different."
Logan raises his hands in defense, remembers where he actually is, and quickly grabs the tree again.
"Viv, I already told you, there is no reason to break up. You completely misunderstood what happened, it was nothing, really."
"Nothing? You call this nothing?" Vivian looks ready to spit fire, "You just go around and kiss -" she pauses and sends a quick look in my direction, "- other girls, and call it nothing?"
"Logan cheated on you?" Liling screams.
"Dude, not cool," Duncan says.
Agatha gasps loudly and Johnny crosses his arms.
"Cheating is really low, Logan," he says.
Logan looks pretty distressed, holding tightly onto his tree and chewing his lower lip.
"I didn't cheat on her, okay!" he says, "Vivian simply misinterpreted a completely harmless situation!"
I stare hard at my latest set of oddly shaped napkins and pray my name doesn't drop in this conversation. Matthew already looks suspicious enough, giving me side looks I deliberately ignore.
"Logan, the tree!" Johnny barks.
There's rustling, and Logan saves the tree from falling over by throwing himself at it. Now, he's again awkwardly clinging onto it with Christmas decorations all around him, and Vivian doesn't spare him one single glance.
"Mic check one two," Carlos' voice booms through the loudspeakers.
"Yo, what's up," Duncan's follows right afterwards, "This is the amazing tech crew, who's ready to partyyy?"
Johnny squints his eyes at them. "You do this at prom and I'll kick you out for sure."
"What president, why?" Duncan complains, "You know what happens when you ask freshmen if they're ready to party? They lose their shit. This is scientifically proven."
"I highly doubt -"
"Vivian," Logan shouts right then, "I promise, I did not cheat -"
There's a loud bang, and both Logan and the Christmas tree he's holding onto fall over. Decorations and tree branches are flying everywhere, and Logan groans from somewhere middle of it, completely hidden by the tree.
There's a silence, and everyone is watching the scene in mild shock.
"I knew this was going to happen," Johnny mutters.
"Damn, why did we not bet on this?" Carlos muses.
"Guys," Logan groans and wriggles his feet, "Are you not going to help?"
"... no."
"What no?"