"What are you doing?!" Rude demanded to know, staring at Reno.
"Oh, come on, you know they're going to make me Prom King. So why not make my hair remind them of a crown?" Reno replied casually, dipping his hand into the hair gel jar and applying it to his head to make more hair spikes.
"You sure about that? Cloud or Sephiroth could win, you know." Rude pointed out. "They do have a following."
Reno scoffed. "Nerds don't count. I've got all three of the contenders for Queen eating out of my hand. They know they get me for the entire night if I win, and none of them would want those losers."
Rude frowned as he unwillingly admitted his best friend was right. Aerith was smarter than one would expect for the head cheerleader, but she was still a snob, and she loved being the center of attention from those just as popular as she was. Yuffie was the only daughter of a foreign diplomat, and was even snobbier than Aerith, but just as attractive in an exotic way, and knew how to play high school politics. Elena was a military brat who wasn't popular with most of her female classmates, but most of her fellow male students were totally enamored by her cute blonde worldliness. It had made the atmosphere at school almost unbearably tense, with the battle lines clearly drawn between the candidates. "I'll be glad when this is over."
"You're no fun. No wonder you're taking your cousin." Reno retorted.
"She's my adopted cousin, and Tifa just moved here. It'll be easier for her to meet people if they think she's already friendly with someone well-known." Rude informed him. "And at least I have a date."
"Whatever. I told you, I'm saving myself for the Prom Queen. It's not proper to leave some poor girl heartbroken when she gets passed over, is it? How come you're here instead of picking…Tifa…up?" Reno asked.
"I offered, but she said she wanted to meet me there." Rude straightened his tie, frowning again, this time in distaste at Reno's adjustments to his tuxedo, making himself look like he rushed out of a burning house while he was getting dressed.
Reno barely stopped himself from smiling. "Hope you're not getting set up to be the one heartbrokenly passed over tonight."
"Not a chance. I told you, she's my cousin." Rude reminded him.
"Sure, buddy. Okay, that's good enough." Reno was finally satisfied with his hair style. Washing the remaining gel off his hands, he screwed the lid back on the jar and turned to face Rude. "Come on, it's time to make this a night to remember for two very lucky girls!"
