What if the seven dwarfs never really existed and were just branches of Snow White's personality? Happy for the good days, Grumpy for the bad, Sneezy when under the weather and Bashful around that special someone. What if every time you looked into...
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I'd just finished reading an incredible book. Or rather, I'd just finished riding an emotional rollercoaster. Sway was... a difficult book. It was funny, it was real. Nothing was sugarcoated. And the best part, I didn't love the main character as I normally would in a novel. In fact, most of the time I was alternating between shouting at him and punching him. It was interesting because the characters felt less like superheroes and more like ordinary teenagers who were too bogged down by the world. I loved it because instead of wishing to belong to that world, I felt like I was already in it.
"Yes, it was just that relatable!" I stressed, making Will roll his eyes.
"A book about a troubled guy making a goody-two-shoes girl fall in love with him was relatable to you. Jesus, Elody, I'm not troubled!" He laughed, making me laugh too. Then it hit me.
"Wait, what?" I asked, not sure of I'd heard him correctly.
"What? Did I say something?" He asked innocently. I was about to conclude that I'd misheard him, when I saw the slightest hint of a blush on his cheeks.
"As I was saying," I continued pointedly, trying to change the topic before I started looking like a fire hydrant. "Jesse was so swoon-worthy and smooth, yet so.... FRUSTRATING," I groaned.
"Oooh looks like someone has a crush," Will said snidely.
"Obviously!" I hit his arm. "He's the kind of guy girls don't want to fall for, but end up falling for anyway."
"Oh, so like me?" Will teased.
"No, the opposite of you," I said bluntly.
"So... Girls don't want to fall for me, and they don't end up falling for me," he said, intentionally trying to mess with me.
"No, that's not what I meant. Ugh," I sighed, letting out a nervous laugh.
"Wow, some writer you are. Can't even find the words to express your love for me," Will sighed dramatically, and I swatted his arm again.
"Girls want to fall for you because they know you're one of the good guys," I blurted out.
"And do they end up falling?" Will asked, smiling ever so slightly, a serious expression crossing his features.
"Nah," I shrugged.
"I want to kill you right now!" He shouted, causing the whole class to turn in our direction. And yes, we were having this whole conversation in class. And no, Mr. Todd didn't care. We were reaching the end of the year anyway, and all our exams were over.
Well, that wasn't much of an excuse, though. Mr. Todd didn't care even at the beginning of the year.
"Do we have a problem here, Mr. Henderson?" Mr. Todd teased Will with a playful glint in his eye.
"Elody's being mean," he said, sounding like a toddler. I rolled my eyes.
"Sorry that I'm not hopelessly in love with you," I shrugged.
Someone coughed behind me. "Yeah right," they muttered under their breath.
"Are you sure about that, Elle?" Emma asked slyly.
"Yes!" I said exasperatedly, definite that I was blushing profusely.
"Mhmmm," piped in Stacy, evidently unconvinced.
"Hey actually," Riley mused aloud. "Ava gave me something a few weeks ago. She told me to use it when the time was right. At first I had no clue why she wanted me to have it, but now I realise it was right in front of me this whole time."
"Oooh, devious little Ava," Stacy grinned, looking at what Riley had in her hand. It was a piece of paper, as far as I could tell. I had no idea what was going on, but clearly all my friends did. I wasn't used to being left out of these esoteric discussions.
"Come on, fill me in too!" Mr. Todd chuckled, looking back and forth between Riley, Ash, Stace and Emma, and me and Will.
Suddenly, Riley stood up, paper in hand, and walked purposefully towards my side of the room.
Will threw me a puzzled look. We were in the same boat.
Or the same ship, rather.
"Elody, ask Will out," Riley said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
She handed me a piece of paper, one I immediately recognised as the custom coupon I'd given Ava for her birthday. On it, it was written: Use this when you need me to do something for you.
I never gave her limitations on what that 'something' could be. I specified nothing. However, I still had one other trick up my sleeve.
"No way," I said, laughing. "You're not actually forcing me to date someone, are you?" I asked, flitting my gaze towards Mr. Todd, who just sported an amused expression.
"Oh, yes I am," she said, enjoying herself very much.
The classroom erupted with a series of 'ooh's. I could feel myself blush harder.
"Fine," I said through gritted teeth, unable to keep a goofy smile off my face. The room went dead silent.
Will smiled with a teasing glint in his eye. I felt my heart flutter. I stood up and walked towards the front of his desk. I took his hands in mine and looked right in his eyes, making sure the gestures were as dramatic as humanly possible. It was a scene straight out of a telenovela.
"Roses are red, violets are blue. Gosh, I just want to be with you," I smiled flirtatiously. Even Mr. Todd, probably the sappiest, cheesiest man alive, visibly cringed.
My plan was fitting right into place. He would know it's a joke. Right?
"Life without you would be like a broken pencil. Pointless," I said, then laughed at my own joke for dramatic effect.
The class looked beyond annoyed with me. I watched as Will's expression dropped from excitement to disappointed in mere seconds.
"So, Will Henderson," I picked up again. "Will you go out with me and make me the happiest girl alive?" I asked, flashing him an exaggerated smile.
"This is all thanks to my seating arrangements, by the way," Mr. Todd swooped in, looking pleased with himself.
My heart fluttered in anticipation, and I wished it had an off button. I was being a pain; how could I possibly expect him to say yes? And more so, even if I wasn't just forced into asking him and I really, really meant it, he'd say no. I just.... wasn't that type of girl, you know? The type of girl who could have stable relationships. I was just too caught up in my head to face... well, real life, I guess.
Yet somehow, for some reason, I couldn't help but wish that he'd say yes.
"No," Will said, unable to look me in the eye.
It was just as I'd imagined it'd play out, except for the fact that I'd never pictured myself feeling upset after he'd said the word. It was only in that moment that I realised how much I wanted him to say yes.
But it didn't matter. After all, it was just a joke, wasn't it?
. . .
A/N yet again, I beg of you: please don't kill me.
