(Rena's POV)
She obnoxiously bumped me with her elbow before not-so-discretely winking in my direction. "So, Rena... Prom is coming up soon. Are you gonna go?" Rhythimi grinned at me brightly. "Isaac heavily suggested that I should go with him...hehe." She squealed to herself like a smitten little school girl.
Mightyena was with me, but Eevee was still napping upstairs. We were both sitting at our lunch table on this Wednesday afternoon, just having finished up our math class for the day. And of course, since Rhythimi was actually on the Prom committee, she just had to bring it up.
I just rose an eyebrow and proceeded to take a rather large bite of my apple. "Why should I? I've got no one to go with."
"Umm, are you sure about that?" Rhythimi seemed to be holding back a laugh as she pointed to something behind me.
I simply just quirked an eyebrow at her. "What are you talking about---" I turned my head to look at what she was pointing to, and my expression immediately hardened. "Oh you've gotta be fucking kidding me."
Keith was down on one knee with a gigantic sign and a bouquet of red roses in his hand, grinning like an idiot. Everyone in the cafeteria was looking our way, since he was causing such a big scene, and it was painfully embarrassing. "Rena, would you please care to accompany my, and I quote, posh ass to prom?" His grin only widened as he handed me the roses.
I took the roses from him and simply retraced my gaze from the stupid red flowers to the other stupid red thing in the room. "Why the hell are you asking me?"
The red-head just shrugged his shoulders. "Well, being the most popular guy in school, I have a reputation to uphold, and I need someone at least decently tolerable to go with me to the four hour dance." His eyes landed on me, and I elicited a groan.
"I'm only decently tolerable?" I shot him a sideways glance, absolutely irritated for reasons I didn't even know myself. Mightyena started cracking up, enjoying the show. "Yeah, because that charm you're using right there Prince Charming is really making me want to go with you even more." The sarcasm dripped off my tongue smoothly, making it sound completely natural.
He rolled his eyes at both the nickname and my sarcastic comment. "So, what do you say?"
I stared at him for a good five minutes before briskly turning back to my lunch. "No." I deadpanned, completely serious.
Rhythimi flipped her lunch tray out of frustration, almost hitting Mightyena with it. "Dammit! Now this stupid sexual tension between the two of you will never end!"
Keith pretended not to hear that and rolled his eyes. "It's just as friends, Rena. I'm not asking you out on a real date."
For whatever reason, that only just pisses me off more.
"It's still a no." I flashed him a hot glare, squinting my eyes tightly in his direction. Mightyena just shook his head at me, and of course I glared at him too.
"Fine, then." He responded with a careless shoulder shrug. "Then I'm just going to keep asking you in really embarrassing ways until you say yes." Keith stood up and left the smirk that was directed at me linger on his face for a moment longer as he walked away.
My face paled in horror. "Don't you dare..."
"Can't hear you, I'm too far away."
"KEITH!"
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"I still can't believe you turned him down." Rhythimi sighed as she walked with me outside onto the school's campus, shaking her head. "Rena, he's the most popular guy in school. No one turns him down." She fixed her stern gaze on me. "He wasn't kidding when he said he would keep asking you."
"How could I not turn him down!?" My cheeks flared bright red, and my hands flew up to my face to cover them. Mightyena stared at my blush curiously, highly suspicious. "That was so embarrassing! Everyone was staring at me!" The blush on my face may have been covered, but the tips of my ears weren't.
Rhythimi rolled her eyes. "That's because you guys are pretty much the couple of the school, and that's typically how prom-posals go."
"Couple of the school?" I quirked an eyebrow at that, suddenly growing very serious. "What do you mean? Rhythimi, we are not a couple." I held my arm out in front of her, getting my point across.
Rhythimi smiled innocently, batting her eyelashes at me. "Well, you two sure do act like a couple, and everyone but you sees it."
I gagged on nothing in particular. "Fa...wha-HUT?" I stared at her unbelievably. "We so do not!"
I don't think even Mightyena believed that.
She stopped walking and stared at me directly in the eyes. "You two wrestle each other, pick on one another all the damn time..." Rhythimi started counting these things off on her fingers. "You're always flirting, you're practically inseparable..." She threw her head back and scoffed. "Hell, you two even nicknamed each other!"
I paused, blinking at her repeatedly. "...those are couple-y things?" I murmured my question almost inaudibly.
Rhythimi abruptly slapped her forehead, and Mightyena did the same with his tail. "Yes, Rena. They are."
"I'm...not sure how I feel about that." I awkwardly scratched the back of my head. "I thought that was a normal thing friends did."
Rhythimi was clearly annoyed at my naivety. "Sweetie, do you do those things with Isaac?"
"...fair enough."
"Yeesh... You two give me grey hairs."
I chuckled lightly at that, shaking my head. Rhythimi locked her eyes in my direction, and I could immediately tell she wanted to ask me something. "Well don't just stare at me like an idiot, just ask me what it is you want to ask me."
Rhythimi hesitated, taking in a deep breath. "I know I've asked you this a million times before, but I want you to answer me honestly this time." She placed her hands on my shoulders, holding me in place. "Rena, do you like Keith?"
Before I could say no, I hesitated, and Rhythimi definitely saw it. "I, uh..." I shamefully stared down at the ground, unable to come to a conclusion for that question. "I don't know."
Mightyena shot me a worried glance, and I knew that look meant he was thinking you just compromised the whole job.
"Hm." Rhythimi pressed her lips together into a thin line, letting her hands drop back down to her sides. "Well, think on it some more for me, okay?"
"Why?" I felt almost startled by both the question and the serious way she delivered it.
A small smile tugged at the corner of Rhythimi's lips. "Despite all appearances he puts up, Keith's actually fragile guy, and I know he likes you. It's obvious." She bobbed her head to the side, resting her hands on her waist. "I just don't think he could handle rejection, especially from you. I hate to admit it, but you're his best friend now." She sadly smiled at me, and I was almost surprised that she willingly accepted the she had replaced by me in Keith's heart. "Just don't break his heart. That's all I'm asking."
I opened my mouth to say something, but I was immediately cut off by a large exploding sound up in the sky.
BOOM!
CRACK!
WHOOSH!
"What...the?" I blinked up at the sky. "...fireworks?"
Fireworks were being set off in the middle of the day, and when they exploded, then spelled out "PROM?"
"RENA, WILL YOU GO TO PROM WITH ME??"
"I SAID NO, DAMMIT!"
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Rhythimi was rolling on our dorm room floor laughing. Literally.
I malevolently glowered at her from my bed, petting Mightyena affectionately. "It's not that funny."
"Of course it is!" Rhythimi laughed incredulously. "He had his butler from home bring him fireworks for prom-posal attempt number two!" She started dying laughing again, and my face reddened in embarrassment.
"SHUT UP!" I awkwardly shouted at Rhythimi, burying my face in Mightyena's fur. "I will never understand you rich people with all your extra money to waste..."
"Hey, I'm not rich." Rhythimi sat up from the floor, still laughing. "Keith and Isaac are the only insanely loaded ones here."
"Whatever." I rolled my eyes, tightening my grip around Mightyena, who wasn't about to say no to getting all of this attention.
"What do you think he'll do next?" Rhythimi awed, immediately starting to day dream.
"I don't know!" My voice cracked when I shouted at her, and it sounded fairly high-pitch and squeaky.
"Oooh, I hope it's something romantic!" She gasped and clapped her hands together, then immediately ran to her closet. "Ooh, we should find you a pretty dress to wear."
"No! We really shouldn't!" I waved my hands around frantically, trying to get her to stop.
I feel like that one invisible person in the background of every sappy romance anime desperately trying to get noticed by their Senpai right now.
Rhythimi paid absolutely no attention to my pleas as she pulled out a hot pink cocktail dress with racer-back straps. "How about this one?"
I shook my head. "No, I would be popping out of that dress like crazy with my figure, and the half-loop stitch on the bottom hem is..." I abruptly stopped myself, then shook my head. "Wait, what am I saying?"
Rhythimi laughed so hard I swore she could've keeled over at any moment. "Fine, fine. No dress then." She hung the dress back up in our closet only to be forgotten about and never worn again. "Can I at LEAST do your makeup?"
I crossed my arms and glared off at nothing in particular. "If it gets you to shut up, then fine."
"Yay!" Rhythimi clapped her hands together. "I've been practicing my skills lately, and I think you'd be really proud of me!"
"Whatever." I shrugged her off, taking in a deep breath. "I---"
"Attention, students of the Ranger School." The school's intercom suddenly turned on, and I was already inwardly cursing myself when I recognized the voice. "I have a question I would like to ask a certain girl out there."
"No no no... Please, no..." I stared off at the wall hopefully as Rhythimi fell to the floor laughing again.
"Rena Deveraux, will you PLEASE go to prom with me?"
"HELL NO!"
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"Will you go to prom with me?" Keith grinned at his work behind me, trying not to laugh at the current state of my room.
I held onto my door and stared at him blankly before slamming it in his face. "No."
SLAM!
"Ow---hey!"
I muttered curses to myself, turning my back to the door and staring at the five hundred different bouquets of flowers that covered my entire room. Mightyena was having a blast, randomly shredding some of the bouquets with his sharp teeth and making an even bigger mess for me to clean up later.
Rhythimi blinked, then proceeded to violently sneeze. "Ah... Ah........ACHOO!" I even cringed at how painful that sneeze looked. "Oh my god, my allergies can't take much more of this..." Rhythimi distanced herself from the flowers as much as possible before latching onto my arms and shaking me. "Rena, for the sake of my sanity, and my allergies...PLEASE just say yes...?" She stared desperately into my eyes, hoping I'd agree.
I stared at her blankly for a good minute before turning to the door, jerking it back open. "Fine, I'll go with you." I only hardened my glare when Keith did a victory fist-pump. "But just as friends. This is not a date."
Keith laughed, throwing his hands up in defense. "I never said it was!"
"Whatever..." I lingered at the door for a moment longer before slamming it back in his face again.
SLAM!
"Ow---you don't have to do that every time, you know!"
"Yes I do."
When I turned back around, Rhythimi was grinning at me brightly. "You sure you don't like him?"
"Shut up. Mind your own business---"
"ACHOO!"
"Eww! Your snot is all over me now!"
"Get these damn flowers out of here already!!"
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XD XD XD okay okay, so I broke the awkward no-update-streak with a funny chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this!!
Fan art by FloralArtistry. Thanks again so much!! It's a beautiful piece and I love it!!
Anyways, back to the story...
Prom is coming up, which is right before graduation, and that means...
:3 well, you know what that means.
I'm already in the process of building my safety fortress for when you guys form an angry mob and get ready to spear me and hang me from a tree for the feels I'm inevitably going to invoke. *goes back to digging the moat around my safety fortress* Now I just have to go get some alligators and I'll be all set...
*cackles evilly and runs away screaming "read, comment, vote, and enjoy!"*