Hello everyone! This is a new story! It's been a few years since I wrote "Shepherd's Song", and after re-reading it, I wanted to take a slightly different approach to the High School AU. This idea came to me when watching Pretty in Pink (Even though this story has little to nothing to do with that movie, other than the Prom), and I thought it would be super cute! I don't want to give away any of the couples in this story because I want it to be a surprise, but if you know me, you have a pretty good idea of who is going to end up with who. That being said, I hope you enjoy!

"Chrom, will you go to the dance with me?"

Robin didn't know how she did it, but her ears picked up Cordelia's question from the opposite side of the cafeteria. The white haired girl unconsciously dropped her spoon back in her soup as she craned her neck to get a better peek at the two in the distance; Cordelia was holding up a hand-made sign, and judging by the sight of her and Chrom hugging, he had said yes.

The seventeen year old quickly averted her gaze when she saw Chrom's head start to turn towards her. Good for him. She had figured that he'd having a hard time asking someone to the dance with his lack of grace, but she should have known he'd have a date in seconds as soon as the theme was announced: Sadie Hawkins. It meant that only girls were allowed to ask guys to be their dates. If anything, it surprised her that it took this long for someone to ask him.

She saw a head of red hair lean down from the corner of her eye, obviously trying to gain her attention," Hey Bubbles, you good?"

"Why wouldn't I be, Gaius?" She replied to her best friend. While her and Chrom's surprise companionship had blossomed as soon as they became lab partners, her truest friend was Gaius. They met when she was still in the foster system, and had stuck it out together ever since. Sure, he could be annoying sometimes and, while he didn't ask for trouble, he was still pretty uninterested in keeping up his grades. He was the opposite of Robin's Type A personality, but they were long past not getting along. If anything, Gaius was more of a sibling to her than Aversa would ever be.

He chewed on the sucker in her mouth, his lips tainted slightly green from the artificial lime flavoring," Didn't you say you had the hots for-."

"-I did not!" The white haired girl squeaked, sending pointed looks towards the other patrons at their table; Henry, a fellow system kid who had been sticking around the two for a while, remained thankfully oblivious as he flipped through a chemistry textbook. Panne either ignored his comment or didn't care. It was only Tharja that seemed to hear. Robin wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't heard the pencil the girl had been using to write snap in half," We're just friends."

Gaius rose his eyebrow in amusement, deciding that this situation was much too interesting to let slide," Just friends? Uh uh, you can't lie to me. I sat through way too many football games this year for you to just let this go," He bit down on the sucker, causing an audible crack," I can break them up. I'm not a fan of Cordelia anyway. She called me dirty, and not in the fun way."

Robin only acknowledged his last comment by thwacking his forehead," Don't do that. If Chrom wants to go to the Prom with Cordelia, then he's entitled to his own feelings."

"You like Chrom?!" The pair's attention was yanked back to Tharja, who still held the broken pencil remnants in her hand," I will fix that."

The white haired girl pinched the brim of her nose and groaned," No, you won't," As much as she loved her friends, they could be a handful at times. She had hoped Tharja would be over her feelings for her by this point, but that would be too much to ask, wouldn't it? They had dated two years ago, and the breakup was mutual! And Gaius seemed more interested in causing chaos than helping her. He always liked watching how things played out.

She sent a pleading glance to Henry and nearly blacked out when she was met with Lissa leaning over his shoulders. They were an odd couple, what with them being complete opposites; Henry was an outcast who liked visiting abandoned factories to look for ghosts, and Lissa was a cheerleader who volunteered weekends at the local animal shelter. Band seemed to be the only thing the two had in common, but somehow they were going two months strong in their relationship. Despite Chrom's complaints about his sister being too young to date, Robin thought they were cute together.

Had she heard anything? While Robin didn't know Lissa too personally, she knew that the girl couldn't keep a secret. Chrom would know by the end of the day," Uh…h-hey Lissa."

The blonde glanced over at Robin and sent her a cheerful smile," Hi Robin! Did you see? Chrom's going to the dance with Cordelia! Here I thought that dolt wouldn't get a date. I was already prepared to bribe you into going with him," She added teasingly.

The seventeen year old let out a small exhale in relief through her nose. Lissa would not have said any of that if she had overheard the gossip about Robin's crush," Lucky him."

The cheerleader furrowed her eyebrows at the girl's unenthusiastic response. If there was anything Lissa was good at, it was being perceptive of people's emotions," Gaius, what's up with Robin?"

The redhead's eyes flickered from one girl to the other before shooting to his feet," I'd love to answer, Princess, but I've got my tutoring session today. Don't want to keep Stumbles waiting," He ruffled Henry's hair and thwacked Robin's nose in retaliation before leaving, smirking as said girl tried to wave him off," See you guys later."

Lissa took his seat, watching curiously as he exited the cafeteria," Did he say tutoring? I thought Gaius didn't care about his grades…or school in general."

"He doesn't!" Henry contributed chipperly," I get it. I like science, but the other subjects aren't really my thing. Only the squares ever do well in Geometry," Lissa's giggles drowned out the rest of the table's protests at the terrible pun.

Robin stirred her soup smugly, deciding now was a fabulous time for some revenge," He's only going to tutoring because he thinks one of the girls there is cute."

This grabbed Lissa's attention," What? Who? Tell me! I promise I won't tell anyone!" She clasped her hands together in a prayer formation," Please!"

"If I knew who it was, I'd tell you," That wasn't completely true, but at least Robin wasn't lying about not knowing who this mystery girl was. Neither Robin or Gaius were open about their romantic feelings, which was why it surprised her so much when he brought up her crush to catch her off guard when playing video games. It worked; not only did she lose the game, but her pride alongside it," I don't even know if it's serious or anything. I only know because I offered to help him and he said his tutor was cuter than me," Tharja let out an offended gasp at that. Panne just let out a low, amused laugh that Robin would have missed if she didn't know any better.

Lissa squealed," That's so cute! Who do you think it is? It can't be Miriel. She's dating Vaike, and he would snap Gaius in two."

"I said I don't know," Robin propped her chin in the palm of her hand," Maybe she'll ask him to the dance."

0-0-0

Robin thrummed her fingers anxiously as she sat in chemistry next to Chrom. There was a substitute teacher in today, so they had been assigned a packet to work on until the bell rang. The two friends would usually use this time to chat with each other, but Robin had no idea what do say. Congratulations on your date? No, that'd be weird because he didn't bring it up. She didn't want to seem like a stalker. Do you want to hang out later? No, that didn't work out either. What if he and Cordelia were dating now? He never mentioned liking her before, but maybe her confession awakened new feelings inside of him. She didn't want to seem like she was interested in him if he was dating another girl. That would just be wrong on so many levels. The weather's nice? No, he would see right through her. You only brought up the weather when there was nothing else to say.

"Hey, I saw you talking with Lissa earlier," Robin blinked out of her trance when Chrom spoke up," I'm glad you two are getting along."

This was good. If he lead the conversation, she didn't need to avoid coming up with topics," Yeah, she's a sweet girl. Her and Henry are good together," Chrom grumbled at that, causing her to chuckle," It's been eight weeks. He is a very close friend of mine, and I would know if he had bad intentions for her," Robin decided to flutter her eyelashes for added affect," You trust me, don't you?"

His frown disappeared as quickly as it came," How can I say no to a face like that?"

"Good answer."

There were a few beats of silence before he spoke again," So what were you two talking about?"

For the briefest second, Robin thought she was going to have a heart attack. It was only when she remembered that she had talked about her crush on Chrom before Lissa joined that she was able to steady her breathing," Hmm? Oh. We were talking about Gaius. We think he has a crush on someone."

Chrom titled his head, sticking his tongue out slightly as he finished up an equation," I thought he had a crush on you."

The white haired girl couldn't help the loud laugh that sprung from her lips. She slapped a hand over her lips and shrank under the scrutinizing glare the substitute send her. Her lab partner snickered at her misfortune, earning a nasty look himself. Robin only resumed the conversation when Vaike broke a beaker, successfully diverting the teacher's attention," Gaius and I are like siblings. He'd date anyone before me."

"Even me?" He asked bemusedly.

"Even you."

Chrom observed her for a few seconds before shrugging," Okay. I believe you. I just know from experience that when a guy likes a girl, he tries to spend as much time around her as possible. At least, that's what I told Sumia," Robin rose her eyebrow, silently prompting him to elaborate," She was debating asking someone to the dance. Wouldn't tell me who, though."

She sent a fleeting glance towards said girl, who was sitting across the aisle from them. Sumia had obviously been listening in on their conversation, because she suddenly seemed hyper-focused on the paper in front of her. Being as smart as she was, busy work should have been a breeze for her. Then again, Robin didn't know the girl that well. It wasn't that she disliked her or anything; they just fell in different social groups. Sumia was the goody-two-shoes teacher's pet, and Robin was a silent hipster with a collarbone tattoo peeking out from underneath her school uniform.

"Uh…Robin?" She shook her thoughts away and turned back to him expectantly," Are you okay? You keep zoning out."

The seventeen year old prayed that the blush she felt creeping onto her cheeks wasn't as prevalent as she thought it was," M'Fine. Just tired, that's all."

She felt her shoulders sag in relief when he nodded in agreement. He really was oblivious, wasn't he? It was a wonder she fell for him at all. When they had been partnered together at the beginning of the year, Robin had thought fate was playing a cruel joke on her. Two years before, she had been the last one changing after gym and Chrom had accidentally walked in on her. He claimed that he thought that he was in the boys locker room, and apologized left and right for it. Robin felt the awkward air between them would never dissipate.

And then…she didn't really know how it happened. He had broken the tension between them by being super nice during Chemistry. She found herself becoming more and more comfortable with him, but she figured he didn't feel the same way. Next thing she knew, she was sitting in the football stands in 20° weather. She thought the friendship was one sided until he woke up at the crack of dawn to drive her to an out of town kendo tournament. That seemed to be the kicker, because they hung out nonstop after that. Whether it was showing up at the midnight premiere of a movie or seeing the new exhibit at the zoo, Chrom was always someone she could go on an adventure with. He was always willing to try something new with her, and he didn't seem to care where she came from. That was what she liked about him.

Robin sighed, deciding to divert the subject before her mind could swirl into a silly spiral," Hey, I hear that it's family night at the museum tonight. Do you want to find a kid to borrow so that we can get in for free?"

Chrom's face cracked into a smile," I'm sure Emmeryn knows plenty of children. Someone's bound to let us take them for a night."

0-0-0

Robin nearly jumped out of her skin when she closed her locker and found Sumia patiently waiting behind it," Shit! Sumia, where'd you come from?"

The brunette shyly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, hugging her books close to her chest," Sorry! I thought you saw me. I've been here for a few minutes."

Geez, she was really distracted today. This Cordelia-Chrom situation must have hit her harder than she initially thought," It's okay, I was just surprised. What's up? Did you forget something from Chemistry?"

Sumia shook her head," Nope! I was actually wondering if I you wanted to hang out."

This…was new. Robin knew that Sumia was friends with pretty much everyone, but that didn't mean she sought people out. As nice as she was, there had to be an ulterior motive," Why?"

She glanced back and forth, scanning the hallways to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation. Robin didn't know what this accomplished; if anything, her overexaggerated movements brought more attention to the pair," I need your help with something."

"With…homework?"

"Nope!" She popped the 'p' and smiled embarrassedly," With Gaius."

Robin blinked once. Then she blinked again. Gaius? As in her Gaius? As in the boy that got detention because he broke into the school store to steal candy? That Gaius? How did Sumia know Gaius? The two of them knowing each other made as much sense as Tharja suddenly falling for Vaike," W-What?"

Sumia wrapped both her hands around her arm, coaxing her towards the exit of the school," Can you tell me more about him?"

A wave of spring air hit them as the left the doors. Robin fumbled for her sunglasses, watching in amusement as Sumia embraced the sun. A small voice in her head nagged not to trust Sumia just yet, but it was hard to listen to that when she seemed so sweet," What do you want to know?"

She pursed her lips thoughtfully," Hmm…what's his favorite color?"

Robin couldn't help the small laugh that leapt out," Green. You know, I figured you'd want something more personal than that when you ambushed me."

"That's not the only question I have, silly!" Sumia giggled back," Erm…what's his Hogwarts house?"

That seemed very in-line with something she'd ask," Ravenclaw with Slytherin tendencies. Let me guess; you're a Hufflepuff?"
"With Ravenclaw tendencies," The brunette added proudly," You're a Slytherin, aren't you?"

Robin felt a small smirk play on her lips," Why do you say that? Do I seem evil to you?"

Sumia immediately began to backpedal," No, not at all-."

"Is it because of the tattoos?"

"N-No!" She pouted," I just figured that sense you're super clever and you seem ambitious," Her classmate crossed her arms," Why? Are you not a Slytherin?"

The white haired girl grinned," I'm a Ravenclaw, but I have Slytherin tendencies. Gaius and I are one in the same," She decided that these questions were all fun and games, but seeing that they were walking home together, her father could easily spot them. He didn't like the concept of her having friends, especially those that were close to the Exalt family. He was drop dead if he found out she harbored feelings for Chrom. They needed to speed things along," Why are you asking these things anyway?"

A soft blush spread across Sumia's cheeks," Well, Prom is coming up and-."

"You're going to ask Gaius to Prom?!"

"N-No! Yes? Oh, I don't know," She kicked her toe in a crack in the sidewalk dejectedly," I always thought that you two were dating, but I overheard you and Chrom talking earlier and was surprised to find out you weren't."

Robin felt a wave of pride wash over her when she realized her instincts had been correct. That didn't keep her from teasing," You were eavesdropping?"

"I wouldn't call it eavesdropping! I would call it listening in," Sumia tittered," I tried to get it out of Gaius, but he's always been so secretive around me. I don't think he's trying to be rude, he just has walls he's built up. I get it. Being in the Foster System is tough," She squeezed Robin's arm supportively, decidedly not pushing the topic beyond that. Robin didn't say it aloud, but she appreciated it," I wouldn't have treated him any different than anyone else, but he's trying really hard and he's a great listener. He's trying to convince me that I'm not a disaster," Sumia smiled nervously," He's always so nice to me during our study sessions-."

Robin stopped dead in her tracks, unintentionally yanking Sumia back with her," I'm sorry, did you say study sessions?"

"Yeah…?" She smiled nervously," I'm his tutor."

Sumia was his tutor. Sumia was the girl he thought was cute! And if what Chrom was saying earlier was true, she was thinking about asking someone to the dance. Gaius had to be that someone! Here Robin thought they would never talk to each other, when in reality, they were smitten as kittens!

Robin brought her fist up to her lips to conceal the excited squeal that tried to spring forth. She was just as bad as Lissa, but when it came to Gaius, she didn't really care if she looked ridiculous," You like him, don't you?!"

Her blush came back at full force," Geez, was I that obvious?"

"No—No, you're fine! Perfect, even," Robin couldn't wait. Gaius was finally going to have a nice girlfriend instead of a hookup. She could already imagine all the cute dates they'd go on," You have to ask him to the Prom."

Suddenly, Sumia seemed very hesitant," Oh, I don't know…I didn't plan ahead this far," Robin was mentally battling whether or not she should comfort the girl and jumped back when the brunette perked up," Hey, you know him really well! How do you think I should ask him out?"

The seventeen year old felt herself grow wary. If Gaius found out she was meddling with his love life, he wouldn't be too happy. There was also the factor that if he said no, Sumia would be crushed. Robin didn't want that on her conscious," I'm sorry, but-."

"Please?" Much like Lissa did early, the girl clasped her hands together in a prayer. She even went so far as to get on her knees," Please, please, please, please-."

Robin glanced around awkwardly, shrinking underneath the odd looks passerby gave the pair," If I say yes, will you stop?"

Sumia responded by shrieking in joy and jumping up to wrap the girl into a rib-crushing hug," Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

0-0-0

When Robin had given Sumia the plan, she felt confident. It was simple; she use her legendary baking skills to make Gaius his favorite cake, present it to him during their study session, and pop the question. Her new friend seemed positive that her brother figure would say yes, but the pastry was there to sweeten the deal.

Now that Sumia was standing in front of the door with a cake in her hand, she felt all the nerves she had previously buried bubble up. She could hear him tapping his pencil impatiently inside, and if she took any longer building up her courage, he would leave. She didn't want another Chrom situation where she baked a pie for him, only to talk herself out of asking him out. All that left her with was an empty heart and a rhubarb pie in her locker. No, this time would be different! She was a junior, for Pete's sake. She could handle this.

With one deep breath, she pushed the door open and bounced in," Hi Gaiu—Ah!"

One minute she was headed towards the redhead, the next she was headed towards the ground. Her landing was seemingly softer than usual, but the embarrassment that came with it hurt more than the impact would have,"…Ouch…"

She heard Gaius rise to his feet and cross to meet her on the ground," Woah there, Stumbles. You alright?"

The brunette pushed herself off the ground, dread filling her every being when she heard a sickening splat hit the ground. Her eyes slowly trailed from Gaius's own green ones to her perfectly made cake on the ground. Well…it wasn't perfect anymore. Three hours of her night had gone to waste, squashed with a Sumia imprint on the top.

Chickening out seemed like a pretty good option now.

Sumia felt her eyes begin to pool up in mortification. She could have waltzed in singing gibberish and made less of a fool of herself! Robin would be so disappointed in her, and she wanted desperately to impress her new friend. Now Gaius probably wouldn't even want her to tutor him anymore with the dunce she made of herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

She felt Gaius lean in slightly," Er…Stumbles?"

As soon as she saw his hand reaching for her, she did the only thing she thought she could do; she bolted. Sumia burst through the door and into the hallway, ignoring the cafeteria crowd as she fumbled towards the nearest bathroom. It seemed like the gods were not going to provide her any mercy today, because she tripped over her own feet and bit it on the hard, linoleum floor.

Sumia didn't even have time to process what had just happened before a strong grip on her shoulders guided her into a sitting position. One of the hands remained stable on her shoulder while the other reached up to gently grip her chin," Jeez, Stumbles. I feel like I should just carry you around with all the wipeouts you have."

Despite Gaius's lighthearted tone, she couldn't help the warm tears that blazed tracks down her cheeks. Her cake was ruined, she had ruined her reputation in front of the boy she liked, and her forehead really hurt from the second impact. How could this day get any worse? Sumia resisted the urge to wipe her runny nose with the back of her hand," S-Sorry. Your c-cake is—it's r-ruined."

He took a few seconds to fully process what she was saying," My cake? Why'd you make me a cake? Is this some added bonus for the kids you tutor, or am I a special exception?" He wiggled his eyebrows playfully," If I had known you played favorites, I would have started sucking up sooner."

Sumia sniffled," I don't play favorites…"

"Not yet," The redhead smirked, using the pad of his thumb to wipe away a stray tear," Seriously though, you okay? You hit your noggin pretty hard, there."

She unconsciously brought one of her hands up to gingerly touch the bruise. Despite her wince, Sumia shook it off," I'm fine. It happens all the time," With that said, she dropped her face in her hands in shame," I'm so sorry, Gaius. I spent so much time baking you that cake so that I could ask you to the dance, and now you probably think I'm some idiot that-."

"Woah, woah, woah," He gingerly pried her head from its hiding spot with a light grin," If you wanted to ask me to the dance, you could've just done so. I'm a pretty laid back guy."

Wait…was he implying what she thought he was? There was no way he wanted to go to the dance with her after she destroyed his cake, started crying like a baby, and made a fool out of herself. But when she stared into his emerald green eyes, all she could see was sincerity," O-Oh. Well…" He rose his eyebrow, as if silently encouraging her to soldier through," Do you want to go to the Prom with me?"

A teasing grin crossed his features," Let's see…," Much to her mortification, he reached his finger forward and scooped a dollop of frosting from off her chest to eat. Was he this casual about everything?! Her face felt like it was about to burst into flames when she caught his coy expression," This is pretty good. Maybe make me another cake like this and I'll think about it."

"Oh…Okay. Don't feel pressured or anything-."

"Just pulling your leg, Stumbles," Gaius took both of her hands in his and hoisted her off the ground, watching in a mixture of amusement and disappointment as stray chunks of cake fell from her chest onto the hall floor. The janitors would have a field day with the mess the two of them had made," What color should I wear?"

Alrighty, now that you have finished reading, lets get into it! Every chapter is going to focus on a different couple and how they get asked to Prom (cough cough, the ridiculous situation Robin and her friends get themselves into). This chapter, obviously, was focused on Sumia and Gaius! They are one of my favorite in-game couples because I think they balance each other out the best out of Sumia's relationships. He brings up her confidence, and she softens him. Plus, they both like sweets. Who could ask for more? Poor Robin is pining after Chrom, who got snatched up faster than front-row tickets. Their storyline is one that will continue on through this entire series (Which I'm thinking will be 5 chapters? We'll see).

Speaking of this series, I will say that I am currently writing another fic (Glib Banter, go check it out!). That one does currently take priority, but this is something I'm writing on the side to keep myself creatively stimulated. I haven't really written anything in the past year, so my summer goal is to get back into that. That means I don't know how often this will be updated, but I'm hoping to crack out the whole story by the end of the summer! Do you guys have any predictions for who is going to get together after this? I haven't really hinted at anything yet, just because I want each chapter to be a spotlight on the characters within it. Once they're introduced, they will be more present in the story. Anyways, I always love to hear your guys' feedback! Thank you for reading, and I'll see you soon!

-Uprisingdragon