The end of the school year was the busiest time for the Royals. As the leaders of the school, they were in charge of organizing graduations, parties, trips, and the prom. It was exhausting, but fun. Remi loved thinking of new ideas for these events, and she especially loved to see the students' happy faces when those ideas came to life. At the end, all the work and lack of sleep were worth it.
They had already decided the theme for that year's prom: girls invite boys. Talking to her friends, Remi realized that every year boys were expected to find creative ways to invite girls to prom. They went as far as bringing balloons to school, making signs full of glitter, and even ordering cake; in other words, whatever it took to impress the girl enough for her to accept the invitation. In Remi's opinion, it was unfair that boys were always the ones who were expected to do all of that, and that is why she decided to revert the situation. For that year's prom, girls will be in charge of asking boys out.
The school seemed to like the idea. Soon, with the help of Elaine and Meili, the invitations were ready and available for purchase. But Remi decided to make things more interesting: the tickets to prom were actually a blank letter that the students would need to fill with a nice message. Once they've done that, they'd give them back, and Elaine and Meili would deliver the invitations four weeks before the prom. They'll leave them in the boys' lockers, rooms, or wherever they could find them. Remi thought that it would be fun. Much more interesting than just buying a ticket and giving it to someone.
Everybody was excited about prom. Wherever she went, she heard girls whispering about whom they'd invite and what would they write in their invitations. The boys were excited as well. Isen was having the time of his life. As a third year, he couldn't attend without an invitation, but he was sure that he would receive one. More than one, even.
Turns out, after the prom theme was revealed, many "lists" started circulating around the school. These lists were actually polls where the students decided, for example: which boys would receive more invitations, which boys were the most attractive, or which boy would the girls date if that was actually possible in this universe (because everybody wanted to date Arlo, but was that possible? Nope. The guy was unreachable.)
At first, it was a thing between a small group of people, but it grew fast. The polls went from having a maximum of ten votes, to having thirty, fifty, eighty, and one hundred. They were published on the school tabloids every few days, and they got so popular that everybody talked about them. No one knew who was making those polls or how many students were involved, but no one really cared. In the mornings, the students would reunite around the tabloids, excited to know the winner of the newest poll.
"Guess what!", Isen said happily, barging into an empty Safe House with a sheet of paper in his hand. "I beat Ventus!"
Remi frowned. "I'm pretty sure that you've been stronger than him for a while..."
"Not in a match, I mean in a poll", he said, handing her the sheet. "Remember last week when I was third place and he was second? Well, not anymore!"
Remi and Blyke quickly read the list. For that poll, the students had to choose which bachelor would they go on a date with. First place was for Arlo, which wasn't really surprising since he had been the winner of all the polls so far. Just like Isen said, he was the second most voted, and Ventus was a close third. Other boys from their year were on the list as well. It ended with Holden on the tenth place.
"It's about time until I'm able to beat Arlo", Isen said confidently. "I've always been in the top four so I'm excited to see how many invitations I'm going to receive for prom!"
"You will never beat Arlo", Blyke said, his hands full of dust because of the board games he had been cleaning. "He is more popular than the three of us together".
But his words weren't enough to wipe Isen's smile off of his face. "You're just jealous because, once again, you're not on the list", he said. "It's not easy to beat Arlo, but I at least make it to the top ten".
Blyke rolled his eyes.
•••
Soon, the effects of the polls on the students became evident. Boys of all ages suddenly started to do weird things to improve their appearance, hoping to make it to the lists. Some of them changed their hairstyles, others stopped wearing their ties claiming that they were too "nerdy" (Remi couldn't help but think that they were copying Isen's style, who never wore his), and others wore them around their necks without a knot, as if they were pop stars. The brave ones gave make up a try, and Remi even saw that boy who was friends with Seraphina –Ronald? Roland?– wearing sunglasses in the classroom.
But no matter how much the male students tried, the top ten rarely changed. Arlo was always first, Isen and Ventus fought for the second place, and other guys like Holden and Terrence (apparently he was pretty popular among the mid-tiers) were always fifth, sixth or seventh. The lists were usually full of boys from third and fourth year, and most of them were high-rankers.
However, there were high-rankers who never made it. Zeke was one of them... and let's say that it hurt his ego a lot. He would stand by the tabloids whenever a new list was published, and talk about how "they were a scam" and "the girls in Wellston are too ugly for him anyway". The good news was that everybody ignored him.
"Zeke says that he doesn't care but yesterday he tied his hair up in a ponytail", Isen said, laughing. "He has never tied up his hair in his life. He's doing it to try to look better".
"Did it work?", Arlo casually asked. They were in the press room, talking about the advertisement for the upcoming events in the school.
"Of course it didn't. A single hair tie won't change the opinion of an entire school", he replied. "Honestly, Arlo, it's still shocking that you never check the lists".
"Do I need to? I know I always win".
Remi, Isen and Blyke looked at each other. Okay, Mr. model face, Remi thought.
"Uh... I haven't seen today's list", Blyke said, his legs hanging from the table he was sitting on. "Do you have it?"
All of a sudden, Isen looked uncomfortable. "You are not on this one either".
Blyke sighed. "Still, do you have it?"
Of course he did, because Isen was so proud of the positions that he was getting, that he had been saving all the lists. Being considered attractive by a whole school was a great achievement in his eyes. Remi couldn't say that he blamed him. There weren't polls of girls, but if there were, it would be nice to be second or third place in each and every one of them.
In today's poll, the students were asked which bachelor would look best in a tuxedo. Arlo was first place, Ventus was second, Isen was third...
"John is in the top ten?", Blyke said, shocked. "What?"
"Ah, yeah, he has been in the top ten in the last two lists", Isen replied. "He's always eighth or ninth place".
"Seraphina and Elaine were talking about that the other day", Arlo said. "According to them, John would make it to the top if it weren't because half of the school still hates him".
Silently, Remi agreed.
"Half of the school hates him and yet he still makes it to the list", Blyke said, bitterly.
"Hey, don't be sad", Isen said, patting him on the back. "You are not the only high-ranker who doesn't get votes. Zeke and rooftop guy never make it either".
"I am not sad", Blyke replied, pushing Isen's hand away from him. "I couldn't care less about these stupid lists. What do you even win by being in them anyway?"
"Many many many invitations to prom", Isen said.
"And ego", Arlo said then. "You receive many invitations but you can only have one date. You choose".
"It's a privilege that not everybody has", Isen added.
Remi frowned. For some reason, she didn't really like the way that sounded.
"Well, it's not like I need an invitation for prom", Blyke replied, his arms crossed on his chest. "I'm a frickin' Royal. I have to attend anyway".
After that conversation in the press room, Remi started to feel a little uneasy about the polls. Their popularity only grew and grew, to the point that each poll received at least two hundred votes. The students would gather around the tabloids every morning, excited to see the newest results. Every morning, a boy arrived with a new hairstyle or a new way to wear his uniform. And every morning, a boy would walk away with his head down, disappointed for failing once again.
"Okay, guys! Clear the corridor and go to class!", Remi yelled to the group that surrounded a tabloid. The teachers had already started to complain because many students would rather go check the tabloids, instead of getting to class on time.
"You heard her, people!", Blyke said, moving his arms to the sides to make everyone move. "The tabloids won't go anywhere! They'll still be here during recess!"
They heard one or two students whine, but soon everybody left. Remi knew, however, that in two hours the corridor would be full of people again, and so the next recess, and so during lunch, and so the next day. "This won't stop", she said. "We'll need to start monitoring the tabloids every morning to make sure that everyone gets to class on time. It's too much people. At this rate, they'll start blocking the corridors".
She was expecting Blyke to agree, but she received no response. Confused, she turned to her friend, who was standing in front of the tabloid, staring at the poll that had just been published. This time, the students decided which bachelor would be the best boyfriend. The names were the same as always. And, once again, Blyke was not on the list.
"...Blyke?"
"Sorry, what?", he said, turning to her.
Remi tilted her head. "I was saying that we should start monitoring the tabloids to make sure that the students go to class on time".
"Oh, yes, you're right", Blyke replied. "But we'll need help, because there's no way that the two of us will be enough".
"True".
With that said, they headed to their own classroom. But as they walked, Remi felt off. She glanced towards Blyke, whose hands were in his pockets, his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes focused in the empty space in front of him. As she looked at him, Remi felt the need to be honest with herself. She couldn't understand why Blyke wasn't in any of the lists. To her, he was intelligent, kind, respectful, and attractive. How could it be that no one else could see how great he was?
It couldn't be just her opinion, right? There's no way that she actually was the only person in the school who thought that he was cute.
•••
Even though organizing so many events at the same time was exhausting, Remi was receiving help from many of her classmates. Meili, for example, wasn't only helping her with the invitations, she was also in charge of decorating the school gym for the prom. She was surprisingly good in art and was very skilled when it came to crafting, so Remi allowed her to be creative and bring her own ideas to life. However, she still needed to make sure that the job was being well done, that's why she asked Meili to meet her after school for updates.
"This is how the curtain behind the stage is going to look like. It's made to shine under the reflectors", she said, showing her a piece of fabric that shone under the light of her cellphone. "We already ordered it, it should arrive next week. I'll have enough time to fix it and add more details, like little pearls to make it shine even more".
"Looks good!", Remi nodded in approval. "Now, how is the building of the stage going?"
Meili looked unsure. "Uh... not very well, we've been having some issues..."
"Oh", she frowned. "I know it's a lot of work. If you guys need help, I can tell Arlo, Isen and Blyke to go-"
"It's not that", Meili sighed. "The issue is Abel. He's hasn't been very well lately, so Ventus has been working on the stage by himself."
Remi crossed her arms over her chest. "What's wrong with Abel?"
"...please don't tell anybody, it's kind of private", Meili said. "But he's been like... depressed. I don't know, he's been weird. He doesn't act like he used to, and he's not paying attention in class anymore". Remi frowned. "I've talked to Ventus about it, and we both think that it's because of those lists. The fact that he's never on them is getting into him, and it's worse when Ventus is around".
"...I see", Remi said. "Have you tried talking to him?"
"We want to but we can't find the right moment, you know?", she replied. "Besides... it's weird. You can tell that he's hurting but he's like... obsessed with those lists. He's been waking up early every day to see the new results, even though the results hurt him every time. It's like he's addicted to them. Also, he looks sad all the time so it's not easy to talk about it".
"Meanwhile, Ventus is all smiles wherever he goes", Meili added. "And that only seems to infuriate Abel even more. I've told Ventus that he needs to tone it down a bit, but...", she shrugged, "he's proud of himself. He feels now that he's in the same league as Arlo".
Remi stood quiet for a moment, thinking about everything she just heard.
"Meili, do you know who is behind of those lists?", she asked.
"No idea. Sorry".
•••
The polls needed to stop.
That's what Remi thought as she walked through the school towards the boys' dormitories. Learning about Abel felt like a bucket of cold water. Somehow, the situation was worse than she expected. It wasn't only about boys changing their appearance anymore, it was about boys who were depressed because they couldn't stop comparing themselves to those who fit a beauty standard. Remi wondered, as she removed as many lists as she could from the tabloids she saw, how many Abels were in Wellston at the moment. She wondered if it was too late for them, if it was possible for them to go back to the way they were before the lists, before they started to see themselves in the mirror and feel nothing but disappointment.
She needed to do something, but she couldn't do it alone. The lists were far too popular in the school, so if she wanted to stop them, she needed the support of at least the other two Royals. That's why soon she found herself in front of Blyke's room. She didn't text him before coming, but hopefully he was available to talk.
She knocked twice.
"Who is it?", she heard John say from the other side of the door.
"It's Remi!"
Strangely, John didn't open right away. Remi started to hear some weird noises instead, like things moving, water on the sink, and Blyke and John whispering. She frowned.
"Guys? Is everything okay?"
"Y-yeah!", John said. "Just give us a minute!"
It didn't sound okay. The two boys wouldn't stop whispering, but it was impossible for her to understand what they were saying. So she waited.
A minute passed, John finally opened the door and a strong smell of hair gel assaulted her. John always smelled like hair gel, but this time the smell was stronger than usual.
"Hey", he said.
"Hi", Remi replied. "Uh... I need to talk to Blyke, can you tell him to come?"
"I-... yeah", John said, clumsily. "Give me a sec".
"Okay".
Remi just stared as John turned towards their bathroom. He took a peak inside, and whispered something that she couldn't catch. She frowned. It was obvious that Blyke was in there, but why were John and him being so secretive? They were almost acting like they were hiding something.
Blyke and John's relationship improved a lot after the latter apologized to them for going crazy. They weren't the closest friends, but now Blyke trusted him enough to be his roommate again without fearing for his life. Remi had to admit that it was nice. Thanks to John's apology, Blyke was free to leave all his hatred for him behind. He was much calmer now. Happier, even.
...he used to be happier, at least.
"There he is!", John suddenly announced, pulling Blyke out of the bathroom by the elbow. Remi lifted her eyebrows. Blyke looked fine, but she could sense that something was off. He looked like he had just taken a shower: his t-shirt was wet in the area of his chest, and also he was covering his entire head with a towel. His grasp in the towel was firm, so firm that his knuckles were pale.
"H-Hi, Rem", he said, finally approaching her at the door. "What do you need to talk about?"
Instead of replying, Remi stared at him, trying to find out what was wrong. The towel was certainly a red flag, especially because he held it in its place like his life depended on it. He was clearly hiding something, and as she looked closely, she realized what it was: all that it took was to look at the few strands of hair on his forehead that the towel didn't cover. Usually, his hair was messy, soft and shiny; now, it was stiff, like a little red stick that fell over his skin. Remi frowned, and lifting one hand, she touched it with her fingers. It was hard and sticky, almost like he had been using...
"Hair gel?", she asked. "Why?"
Suddenly, Blyke panicked. "U-uh...", he mumbled. "J-John was teaching me how to use it, since he's really good at it".
"Y-yeah!", John said. "I was watching some hair tutorials and asked him if I could try them on him".
"But I didn't look good so I was removing the gel with water", Blyke added, faking a laugh.
Remi said nothing. She turned to John instead.
"Could you leave us for a minute?"
The two boys exchanged a look. "Sure", John said. He then turned to his room and disappeared behind the closed door.
Now that they were alone, Remi took a deep breath. She hugged herself, and looked at her best friend from behind her lashes.
"Are you okay?", she asked. He still looked like he was panicking.
"Yeah", he replied. "Why?"
"You don't need to keep lying to me", Remi said, her voice firm. "I know that those lists have been hurting you. And I know that John wasn't trying hair tutorials on you, he was helping you change your hairstyle to see if you could make it to a list".
Remi bit her tongue. Too harsh, she thought, and the feeling got worse as Blyke's skin lost its color.
Now avoiding her gaze, he frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about".
She sighed. "Blyke, please... I can see it in your face. You've said that you don't care but it's clearly affecting you".
"Fine. Fine. You win", Blyke said. The way his voice sounded angry, almost aggressive, caught her by surprise. "You're right. It wasn't easy to find out that I'm ugly. Actually, it would have been nice to find that out in a less public way".
Remi gasped. That was the second bucket of cold water that fell over her that day.
"Blyke, you're n-"
"Can we drop this conversation now?", he interrupted her. "I'm tired, I want to sleep".
"No, we-"
"Remi", he interrupted he again. He sounded serious. "Please just leave".
For a couple seconds, she stood there, unable to decide what to do next. There was no regret in Blyke's eyes, no doubt. But there was a deep sadness that crushed Remi's heart.
She tried to say something, but no words came out. Instead, she took a step back.
The door closed instantly.
•••
Now it was personal.
Stomping towards the school, Remi grabbed her phone and wrote a quick text: "Meet me in the press room. NOW!"
Isen and Arlo arrived to the press room with equal expressions of confusion. It wasn't common to receive a text from an angry Queen who was calling for a meeting at 9 pm. And it wasn't common either to go into a classroom and find said Queen pacing from left to right, with her fists clenched at each side of her body.
"Uh... what's wrong with you?", Arlo asked.
"I have made a decision", Remi said. "I'm going to ban the polls starting tomorrow".
"WHAT?!", Isen yelled. He looked genuinely terrified. "WHY?!"
"Because they are hurting people!", she replied. "Haven't you seen what those lists are provoking? Anywhere I look there's a boy who's disappointed in himself for not being considered attractive enough! This has to stop!"
Isen was looking at her as if she was growing a third arm. Arlo, on the other hand, stayed quiet.
"I mean, I understand that it sucks to not receive any votes", Isen said. "But come on, Remi, it's not that bad."
"Of course it's bad!", she insisted. "The male students are desperate to fit the beauty standard. They are changing their appearances, they won't stop comparing themselves to the two of you, who are always at the top of the lists. Some students are depressed. Do you think this is normal?"
"Remi, the polls are fun", he replied. "The students love them. You can't take them away from them".
"Who loves the polls, Isen?", she asked. "Let me tell you who loves the polls: the girls who enjoy judging people for their appearance, and the boys who win. They love the polls. That's why you love the polls. Because if you didn't get votes, you wouldn't love them as much".
Isen shook his head. "I think you're taking this way too seriously. It's not that deep. Yes, I like being at the top, but if I weren't, I wouldn't care. It's a choice, you know. You can either take it personal and suffer, or you can accept that it's just for entertainment and there's no need to take it seriously".
"That doesn't apply here. Some boys are literally depressed, and being depressed is not a choice they made", she insisted. "I want the announcement on the newspaper tomorrow".
"But-!"
"Consider it an order".
For a couple seconds, Isen stayed still, looking at her with shock in his eyes. Remi knew what he was thinking. As Queen, she had the right to give orders to the students, but she rarely used that advantage. Remi believed that it was better to talk to people and ask for favors instead of giving orders. However, that didn't mean that she forgot about that attribution, it's just that she saved it for special occasions where she really needed things to be done.
Isen knew that she wouldn't be giving him an order unless she actually needed him to obey. This is why his shoulders visibly dropped, like he had been defeated. Isen could say no to Remi, but the press lead couldn't say no to the Queen. That's how it worked.
It's not like Remi enjoyed it. He was her best friend, after all.
"Look", she said. "If you don't want to help me ban the lists for the sake of Wellston, fine, it's okay. But at least help me for the sake of Blyke". Isen looked at her. "He might have convinced you that he doesn't care, but that's not true. He's hurting. He's been hurting for weeks and we're letting it happen."
"Remi", Arlo talked for the first time since the discussion began. "Before you make any decision, think about the consequences. Isen has a point, the students love the lists. Be prepared to face backlash if you ban them".
Remi's fist clenched, her mind bringing up the memory of Blyke staring at the tabloid, secretly hoping to see his name somewhere. She then remembered the smell of hair gel, the deep sadness in his eyes, and the way he asked her to leave him alone for the first time in three years of friendship.
She remembered how wrong it felt to see the most handsome guy she has ever met calling himself ugly.
"I don't care about the consequences", Remi said. "The lists must go".
Arlo sighed. "Isen, please do as she says. Post the announcement tomorrow".
"Fiiiiine", Isen said. "The problem is that I already sent tomorrow's archive to print, so it'll have to be the day after tomorrow".
"Works for me", Remi nodded. "Also, let everyone know that, if I see any other list, I'll be reporting the situation to the Headmaster".
Arlo and Isen shared a look.
"Okay".
•••
Remi was much calmer about the whole situation now. In just one day, there wouldn't be any more polls in Wellston, no more boys sadly looking at the tabloids trying to find their names on the lists. Maybe Arlo and Isen were right when they said that there would be backlash, but it's a risk that she was willing to take.
But there was still one thing that she needed to do. Even though it's been weeks, she had no idea who was behind the polls. She had interviewed many students about it but no one gave her a name, either because they genuinely didn't know, or because they were trying to protect them.
So the day after her meeting with Arlo and Isen, Remi woke up earlier than usual and started monitoring the tabloids by herself. The lists were published in the morning right before class started, so being in the corridors early would allow her to find whoever was going from tabloid to tabloid pinning the lists. She hoped so, at least.
After the first twenty minutes, Remi wasn't successful. The campus was huge, there were tabloids in almost every corridor and she didn't exactly know where to begin her search. However, right when she was starting to think that her efforts were in vain, she found them. She caught two girls, one with dark green hair and the other with purple hair, who didn't look older than fourteen years old. They were in front of a tabloid, both with a bunch of sheets of paper in their hands. They looked like they were in a rush, pinning the lists as fast as they could. Remi checked the time. In ten minutes the students would start leaving their rooms and heading to the cafeteria for breakfast.
"Hey, you!", Remi yelled, running towards them. Both girls jumped in their places, looking around them with equals expressions of panic. And when they realized who exactly was calling, their panic only grew.
"R-Remi!", the purple girl said, her eyes wide open.
"So you are the ones behind those polls!", she said, her arms crossed over her chest. "You really know how to be discreet, huh".
As far as she could remember, she had never met them before. Judging by how young they looked, they were probably first years. She didn't recall seeing them in the Safe House, neither in the press room nor in any other club. Maybe they'd rather keep a low profile in general, and that would explain why it was so hard to find them.
Both girls looked at each other.
"Are we in trouble?", the one with the dark green hair asked.
"No", Remi said, calmly. They sighed in relief. "But there's a couple things I would like to talk about with you". They nodded. "First of all, I think that you should know that I've made the decision to ban your polls starting tomorrow".
As expected, they didn't like the news. They looked shocked. Mad, even. But none of them said anything and kept their heads down instead, like they were being scolded. Remi wasn't trying to be scary, she wasn't as good as Arlo when it came to asking for respect and showing authority, but staying submissive was a normal reaction in low-rankers when they had a Royal in front of them.
"I know that you started this for fun", Remi continued, her voice still calm. "But if you've been paying attention, then you've noticed that something that was supposed to be entertaining, soon became harmful. Your lists are hurting boys all over the school".
"We didn't want that to happen", purple girl said, her voice soft, like it was about to break. "It's just that... we don't have many friends, and we like talking about guys, so we just wanted to do that with more people".
"I understand", Remi sighed. "And I'm glad to hear that you didn't have any bad intentions, but my decision still stands. I'm sorry, girls".
"It's okay...", dark green said, a sad tone in her voice. "We were running out of questions anyway".
Overall, they reacted better than expected. Remi thanked them for being understanding, and warned them about the notice that they'd see on the newspaper the next day. But, right when the girls had bowed down and were about to leave, Remi remembered something.
The poll that they had been publishing that morning asked the students who was the hottest bachelor in Wellston. Just a quick glance was enough for her to know that, as always, Arlo was first, followed by Isen, Ventus, Holden, Terrence and John. Same as usual.
"Before you leave, there's something I need to ask", Remi said. She took a second to think about her words carefully, the problem was that she could already feel her cheeks warming up. "Uh... how is that Blyke is never in the top ten?", she asked. "It... doesn't make much sense to me, to be honest".
"Oh", purple girl was quick to reply. Her voice had already stopped shaking. "That's because our polls are about bachelors only".
Remi lifted an eyebrow. That didn't answer her question.
"So...?"
Both girls looked at each other. "So... we can't include Blyke in the results because he's not a bachelor. He's taken".
This time, it was Remi the one whose eyes were opening widely.
"Uh... what?"
"H-He's taken, right?", dark green said. "He's dating you... isn't he?
For a couple seconds, Remi stared at them.
And then, in a non very Queen-like gesture, she covered her face with her palms and groaned.
"Blyke is not dating me", she said. "He's single!"
It had to be a joke. There is no way that the reason why he's never on the lists is because of a misunderstanding. There is no way that Blyke had been suffering for weeks because of a stupid mistake!
To be fair, the girls looked like they wanted to facepalm.
"I told you we had to ask first!", purple said.
"We can't ask stuff like that! It's creepy!", her friend replied.
"We left him out of all the lists!"
"Can you blame us? They have so much chemis-", dark green stopped herself before she could finish that sentence, probably because she remembered who exactly was right in front of them.
Remi's cheeks felt warmer than ever.
"So...", Remi said. Suddenly it was very hard to keep eye contact. "I'm assuming that he does get votes after all?"
"Yeah, girls vote for him a lot", purple replied. Then, she sighed. "Wow, we really messed up, huh..."
In that moment, there was only one thought in Remi's mind: Blyke needs to know. Right now his self-esteem was on the floor for believing that he wasn't attractive enough. He needed to know that it was a misunderstanding. Hopefully, that will help him heal.
She couldn't not try. He deserved to feel better.
"Can you do me a favor?", Remi asked. "Could you give me a copy of today's list, including Blyke's votes?"
"But you've banned the lists-"
"I won't publish it. The copy is just for me".
Confused, the girls nodded.
•••
It was late at night. All the clubs were already closed, including the Safe House. But as always, its founders needed to stay for at least an hour in the classroom to clean it. That was her chance.
She peeked through the window. Blyke was in there, mopping the floor. She was glad to see that his hair was back to normal: messy, soft and shiny as always. He had also removed his jacket and his tie to clean more comfortably, and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up on his elbows.
Yeah, there was no way that he wasn't receiving any votes.
The second he felt the door opening and then closing, Blyke looked up. He quickly left the mop behind, and with his golden eyes wide open he took a step closer to her.
"Can we talk?", they said in unison.
The two of them sat on a table, right by an open window. Remi held tightly the sheet of paper on her pocket.
Blyke was the first to talk.
"I'm sorry", he said. "I'm sorry for kicking you out last night. You were right, it... it hurts, but that's no excuse for the way I treated you". He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Please don't be mad at me".
"I'm not", Remi replied softly. "I knew that you were suffering, that's why I wasn't offended". He looked relieved. "But I wish you were honest with me. I wish you'd have told me that you were hurting, because I would have done something to help you".
"There's really nothing to do", he said, showing her a sad smile. "But I'll be okay. I just have to get used to knowing that I'm-"
"Say the word 'ugly' again and I'll zap you".
Her response caught him by surprise. He closed his mouth immediately, ashamed.
Remi couldn't stand seeing him like this.
"There's something you need to know", she said, grabbing the paper and unfolding it. "I've made the decision to ban the polls. There won't be any more lists".
He seemed surprised. "Damn", he said. "Isen will not be happy".
"The thing is", she continued, "that today I talked to the girls who were making the polls. And...". She stopped talking, not really sure how to proceed. "Just... just look at this".
When Blyke looked at the list, it seemed like it took him a few seconds to understand what exactly he was looking at. When it hit him, he frowned. He didn't celebrate, nor smile. If anything, he looked like he was being the victim of a cruel prank.
"The reason why your name wasn't in any of the lists was not because the students weren't voting for you", she explained. "It was because the polls were about bachelors, and the girls who made them didn't know that you're a bachelor too".
Blyke lifted his eyebrows. "Uh... why? That doesn't make sense".
"They thought that you're dating me" She missed his reaction. She felt too shy to look in his direction. "So they left you out of all the results, even though you received votes in every poll".
There were a few seconds of silence in which Remi just stared at the floor, and could only feel the sound of the paper cracking under the pressure of Blyke's fingers, and the soft breeze that came through the open window.
"Oh", he said.
"Yup", Remi whispered.
"That's-... uh... I mean...", Blyke stuttered. Apparently Remi wasn't the only one who was extremely flustered right now. He cleared his throat. "Still, these results don't look... realistic?"
"What do you mean?", she asked, secretly thankful for the way he changed the subject
Blyke ran his fingers through his hair. "I have fifty three votes, just like Arlo. We're both in the first place. That's impossible".
"Fifty four".
"Hm?"
Remi's cheeks felt like they were on fire.
"You have fifty four votes. I didn't get to submit mine, but technically... you won this time", she looked away. She could feel her heart beating like crazy in her chest. "You're really attractive, but I hate the idea of you judging yourself based on other people's opinions. Still, I think that you needed the truth, and that's why I'm showing you the list".
She started playing with her fingers, avoiding looking at him at all costs. "You were the victim of a misunderstanding, but that's not the case for everyone else. There's a hundred boys in Wellston who truly didn't make it to the lists, and they are hurting as much as you were, or even more. That's why I'm banning those things".
This time, and even though she was once again avoiding his gaze, she could feel that he was looking at her. He looked at her so intensely, that it felt like his eyes were burning holes in her skin. Remi kept playing with her fingers, trying to get over the embarrassment she was feeling. But it wasn't easy, not when Blyke just wouldn't stop looking. At that point, he probably noticed the way-too-evident blush that covered her cheeks.
It was ridiculous. He was her best friend, so feeling so nervous and embarrassed around him felt wrong. Remi reminded herself that it was okay to compliment a friend, and she didn't do anything weird when she told him that he was attractive. This is why she found the bravery to look at him again.
...and quickly regretted it. He was, in fact, looking at her, with lifted eyebrows, happy golden eyes, and a side smile that made her blush even harder.
That was confidence, and it looked great on him.
"So... are you going to say something or not?", Remi asked.
"Yeah", Blyke showed her the list, now with a huge smile on his face. "Can I keep this? I want to show Isen how right he was: it is possible to beat Arlo after all!"
Remi giggled.
"Of course you can".