Beauty ranking (unOrdinary one-shot)

Epilogue

"You know that you're annoying as hell, right?"

"Ha".

"Come on, bro, just tell me already!".

"Nope".

"I've considered every single option-".

"You're missing a few".

"I've literally mentioned all the girls in Wellston!"

"Again, you're missing a few".

It had been a few days since the polls were permanently banned in the school... and it had also been a few days since Isen found out that Blyke managed to beat Arlo because apparently a mysterious girl gave him a last-minute vote. Blyke, as a little revenge for all the times Isen teased him for not being on the lists, was having the time of his life keeping the mysterious girl's identity a secret.

"Can you believe this guy?", Isen said to Remi, clearly annoyed. "He won't tell me who made him win!"

Remi tried to hide her smile. "Maybe he's lying".

"Nah, he's telling the truth", he replied, staring at Blyke with inquisitive eyes. "He sucks at lying, he can't keep a secret for more than two days. Look at him. He's enjoying this".

Isen was actually right about that. Blyke was not only enjoying his revenge, but also the last few days he had been in a very good mood, and Remi couldn't help but think that it was because of that conversation they had. Wherever he went, it was like he was shining. He was more comfortable with himself than ever. He even seemed taller.

"Now", Isen said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Drop the name".

"No".

Isen frowned. "There is only one girl whose name I haven't mentioned". He sounded disappointed, like he already hated the possibility of Blyke saying yes to that last name: "...was it Seraphina?"

"Nope". Blyke smiled, his body resting against the wall. "That would have been awesome, but between you and I, this girl is even better than Seraphina".

Remi's heart skipped a beat.

Isen, on the other hand, now seemed more disappointed than ever:

"...C-Cecile?"

"What? No!"

"Dude, stop the crap! No one is better than Seraphina!"

Out of compassion for her best friend, who quickly went from irritation, to disappointment, and back to irritation, Remi decided that it was time to give him a hand:

"Isen?", she said. "Have you asked him about me?"

When Isen turned to her, he seemed surprised, but it didn't last long. He put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. "Of course not, Remi. I know you, I trust that you have a good taste".

Remi couldn't believe her ears.

"Uh... okay".

The only thing that stopped Isen from noticing the look of murder in Blyke's eyes, was the sudden arrival of Elaine and Meili, who had spent the whole day delivering the invitations to prom. At that point they were almost done. Their basket –which in the morning had been full of tickets from top to bottom– had only a few tickets left.

The second he saw the girls arriving, Isen's eyes started shining. Apparently his brain quickly left Blyke's mystery behind, because he now looked like a puppy waiting for a treat. After so many weeks of polls and expectations, Remi was excited to see how many invitations he'd receive.

"Nothing for you, Blyke", Meili said. "Sorry".

"It's okay", Blyke said. All of them knew that it wasn't really surprising. No matter how charming, a third-year Jack would never make a good date for prom. Like Remi, he'd need to spend the entire night making sure that the event goes smoothly. Even if he received an invitation, he'd still need to reject the girl.

"And for Isen...", Meili said, handing him one ticket. "Here".

"I'm sorry for not hiding it for you, but we're exhausted", Elaine said, clearly tired. "Now we only need to give these last three to Arlo and Ventus, and we'll be done".

"Thank you for your hard work", Remi said, her voice sincere.

The two girls bowed down and left.

When they were alone again, Remi turned to Isen, who stared at his one ticket with a disappointed expression on his face.

"Are you okay?", Remi said.

"I can't believe it's just one. I... I thought there'd be more", he said. "So the lists truly didn't mean anything after all..."

"Hey, it's not that bad", Blyke said, patting him on the back. "You, as a third-year, still received an invitation for the fourth-year prom. That's awesome, dude".

"He's right", Remi nodded. "Besides, maybe there's more girls who wanted to invite you, but didn't do it because they thought that they didn't stand a chance".

"Everybody thought that the most popular guys would receive many invitations, after all", Blyke said. "If I had to invite someone, I wouldn't spend money if I didn't think that the girl is going to say yes".

"Come on, open it", Remi said, patting Isen lightly on the arm. "Let's see who your date is going to be!"

Remi and Blyke just watched as Isen opened the envelope with little to no excitement. He took the ticket, his gaze moving from left to right as he quickly read the message his date left him.

And then, his eyes opened widely, and Remi could have sworn that his jaw almost hit the floor. Isen was completely stunned. His mouth moved, but no words came out. He looked at his two friends who waited impatiently, and then showed them the message for them to read:

"If you tell anybody about this, I'll destroy you.

–Cecile."

"Dude!", Blyke said, a smile on his face as he ruffled Isen's hair with his fingers. "Congrats!"

"I-... she-...", he stuttered. And then, he started blushing, to the point that his entire face was now red. Remi smiled. Isen was blushing! How cute!

"Maybe, receiving one invitation from someone special is better than receiving ten invitations from random people", Remi said, staring as Isen tried to recompose.

"You know what? You're right", Isen put the ticket back into the envelope, shaking his head in what it seemed a mix between approval and determination. "You're right", he said again. "Now, if the two of you excuse me, I need to talk to my woman".

With that said, Isen quickly left, leaving his two best friends smiling proudly at the spot he had just been in.

"Cecile, huh?", Remi said later. "That's... interesting".

"I know that you're not very fond of her", Blyke replied. "But while she hates us, she seems to have a weak spot for Isen".

"Apparently it's mutual".

Blyke shrugged. "I don't know... Isen likes every girl he sees."

"So", Remi then said, turning to him. "Are you planning on telling him that I was the one who gave you that vote?"

"Please... do you think that he'll believe me? He trusts that you have a good taste, after all".

Remi shook her head, chuckling. "Oh, Isen..."