"Heey! Nomi!" Fritz was getting my attention.
"What's the answer to problem 5?" He asked. "46, Fritz. Seriously, when will you learn to learn?" He snickered and wrote down the answer. I guess I was too nice to tell him something along the lines of three hundred forty-six. Finally, math was over.
As I walked down the hall from my final class, I stopped to have a drink at a water fountain. I was about to start walking again when a flash of purple caught me by the hand. I let out a small "woop!" as I was pulled into that tango position when the man holds the woman by the hand and looks about ready to drop her. I smirked.
"Geez, Vincent. I half expected you to kiss me." His eyelids lowered and he got a smug smile. "Would you like me to?" "Heck no! Not here, anyways."
We walked down the hall together, me talking about my day, him talking about a new toaster he ordered on amazon. Jeremy Fitzgerald walked past, waving at me and saying "hi Nomi!" which got a frown from Vincent. "You know he likes Mangle, not me," I suggested to Vincent. Vincent nodded, "whatever." Vincent always acted like he was my bodyguard or something. Maybe that was just to get me as a date for the school dance.
We sat down in the bus seat, scrunched together with Tomaya. Freddy was looking as nervous as usual, but this time he turned to me and asked me a question.
"Uh, hey, N-Nomi..." He asked shyly, "uh... do you think that t-toy freddy would go to the d-dance with me?"
Vincent snickered. He thought that freddy's crush on toy freddy was dumb, but I thought it was cute. "Sure, freddy! Just ask as a friend, or go with another friend and meet up with him. Hey, maybe you could go with Jade!" I hoped that would make him feel better, and apparently it did. A small smile creeped up his face and he turned back to the window.
[-]
"Oof!"
Doesn't one hate to be waken up by a kick? "What the heck Max?" "Mom's gonna kill someone if you don't get up already!" Reeally? It's not like she's Vincent or something... I thought to myself. Grumbling, I got out of bed and slid down the banister. I ran up the street soon after and caught my bus.
"You were almost late," Vincent sneered, "you know what happens when you're late!" "Sheesh, Vincent. It's not like I'm five," I retorted. Vincent grinned with that creepy grin. "Oh really? How old are you then?" I tried my best to keep a straight face. "You know as well as I do I'm fourteen." "Uh huh." He said before looking out the window. Last year I had wondered if he was purple because he painted himself. Turns out not.
Scott soon got on the bus. He usually missed it because he took forever to get his things together. His red plastic phone face looked sadly cheerful as always. Scott was in my social studies and Japanese classes. "Hey Nomi." He said to me. What was it with all these guys saying hi to me? Jeremy was my friend and lab partner, but scott? Freddy and I ate lunch together, and he liked Toy Freddy besides. I wondered if Scott wanted to take me to the dance, and how Vincent would react to that. He acts like the alpha male of the wolf pack when another guy talks to me.
When we got to school, Vincent and I (Vincent really wanted to go) went over to the library. Rose and Kanaya were usually there. They looked up when I said hello.
"Good Morning, Nomi. Were You Looking For Something?" Asked Kanaya. "Actually, yes. I was looking for you," I replied, "and I believe Vincent was looking for Rose." Rose looked up with quirked eyebrows. "Vincent?" "Of Course, Nomi. You Can Ask Me Almost Anything." I liked Kanaya, she was usually very helpful and spoke her words so precisely that it was like reading them off a book. Vincent started to follow Rose to the mythology section of the library.
"So, Nomi, What Would You Like To Ask?" Kanaya smiled, with her signature green lipstick highlighting her grey skin and adding a variety of color to her face. "Well, I was wondering if you could make me a dress for the dance?" I asked. "Of Course. I Can Make One For You," Kanaya replied, "What Would You Like?"
Meanwhile...
Vincent walked with Rose to the bookshelf, where she started to sort the books. "So, what was the question you were going to ask, hmm?" She seemed somewhat curious that he came to ask her of all people, especially with Nomi being his prey at the moment. "I need someone like you to answer this. One who can see all turns off events, how my luck will end up, you know, that sort of thing." Vincent looked straight into Rose's eyes, his deep glowing pools of white showing almost no emotions. "So, what are you going to ask?" Rose queried. "Who. Will. Go. To. The. Dance. With. Nomi?" He asked, a large pause between each word. Rose closed her eyes and thought. "Well, there are many possible outcomes, but it will be decided by an Unknown Force. You seem a likely candidate at the moment, but you might fall behind when others get into the picture." Done. Her answer was over. Vincent, who seemed only somewhat satisfied, stood up and said, "can you tell me who the force thing is?" With that, Rose said, "unfortunately, no. I can only see one's luck and all possible outcomes. Even if I could, that would break the fourth wall, which Nepeta tried very hard to fix."
... What?
I walked to the lunch table where store of the animatronics were sitting. You could half expect Jane Crocker to be the principal here, because the animatronics were treated as normal people, just like how no one inquired about Scott's plastic phone head. Toy Chica was giggling about something Chica had said. Mangle looked up and waved one of her joints at me. "Hey, Nomi!" I smiled and sat down next to her.
"Sooo..." I started, "who are you going to take to the school dance?" Mangle shyly smiled. "Well, I guess I might as well ask Jeremy. I've got one shot at this, you got any tips?" I gestured with my eyes at Toy Chica. "You should ask romance queen." Toy Chica looked up, "yes?" Mangle giggled. "Hmm..." She was about to say something when a certain troll in a green jacket and blue cat hat popped up.
":33 did someone say something along the lines of "ask another to the dance?"
":33 meow expurrtise should help you out!"
Mangle jumped a little, then smiled awkwardly at Nepeta. "Uh, sure." Nepeta smiled, her golden-yellow eyes widening and almost sparkling with glee.
":33 soo…. who shall be added to meow shipping wall today, hmm?"
Mangle looked a little embarrassed. the words, 'shipping wall' made her blush a flushed red.
"uh.. me and Jeremy? I guess maybe…" Mangle was searching around in her head for the right words.
":33 h33h33! You sound like Tavros!"
At a not too far off table, Tavros looked up. "uHH, wHAT WERE YOU, uHH, sAYING nEPETA?" he asked with a touch of confusion. Nepeta giggled and continued talking.
":33 H33h33! So, Meowngle, do you two f33l more like matesprites than meowrails?"
":33 That would be soooo cute!"
Mangle still didn't quite understand the troll quadrants. She looked confused, so I leaned over and whispered, "do you love him?" Mangle gave me a grateful glance before saying, "I guess so?"
Another troll came, a male troll, by the name of Karkat Vantas. "NEPETA," he said, "VINCENT, OR WHATEVER THAT ALIEN HUMAN'S NAME IS, IS BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL AGAIN." Nepeta looked annoyed.
":OO Not the furth wall again! I k33p trying to fix that thing and what do people do?"
":(( sorry guys! I have to go. There's a furth wall to save! Leave it to meow, Karkitty!"
":33 *ac bounds out of the room with incredible sp33d! Then runs from the group all heroic and goes to save the day!"
As Nepeta ran off, I looked up at Karkat. "Why is Vincent breaking the fourth wall, whatever that is?" I asked. "I'M NOT ACTUALLY SURE, BUT IT'S SOMETHING ROSE TOLD HIM HE WANTS TO GET HIS WEIRD PURPLE HANDS ON. I THINK IT WAS SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF AN UNKNOWN FORCE. BUT REALLY, WHO GIVES A-" "Uh, thanks, Karkat. I kinda wanted a quick answer, but that's good. Thanks. Oh hey," I started one more question, "who are you going to the dance with?" His eyebrows raised. "AND WHY DO YOU ASK?" I blinked, oh gosh, did he think i was going to ask him? "I was… just wondering…" He stepped back a pace, then walked off to the table where Gamzee, Tavros, Sollux, and Aradia sat.
...