Story #4: "Where Is Your Heart At?" (Clyde x Cristina)
Plot: Two kids unexpectedly and inexplicably fall in love despite the unusual circumstances.
Characters: Clyde McBride, Cristina McKinnon (fan surname; Cooke/Savino), Howard and Harold McBride
Genre: Romantic Situational Comedy
Rated: K+/PG (for some language and themes)
("Where Is Your Heart At?" - Jamie Callum) [From Meet The Robinsons]
(5:00 PM)
Somehow, somewhat, Cristina had been persuaded (friendly forced, in her parent's case) to go out on this Valentine's Day date. No, she had absolutely nothing against this particular day. Yes, she had slightly something against this particular day. It was nothing personal, it was just business... Family business. Her parents hadn't spared no expense, believing that money couldn't buy their happiness. It was totally true from the start, but the sticky situation she found herself entangled in was nothing more than hypocritical humor to them. Here, her parents who held their basic belief concerning money and happiness were now ordering their own daughter no less to use the former object (the money) to buy the latter object (the happiness).
How fitting.
As the car drove off elsewhere, Cristina approached the front entrance and stopped in her tracks upon laying her eyes on her reflection. Making a mental note to thank her mom for going easy on the make-up, she moved on from her facial features to her clothing characteristics. She wore a pair of golden hoop earrings, a pair of black leather Mary Janes, and a pair of navy blue elbow-length gloves that went with a navy blue dress. The dress was what caught her attention. Instead of her usual navy blue blouse, it was a dress with...complicated colors. It looked black-and-blue and gold-and-white (5).
Cristina herself was mostly black-and-white.
"Excuse me, young girl."
Cristina glanced up from her reflection and to a middle-aged woman donning a purple-and-pink dress and a sincere smile, "Are you lost?"
"Oh, no. I'm just waiting for my date."
The woman brightened up instantly, "Oh! I believe he just ran in! Follow me."
Cristina followed the woman inside and immediately got lost in the crowd. Fortunately, she took her hand and led forward to a white round table with a mini pot of roses and a scented candle. Mmm, apple cinnamon. Whoever my date is, he has some great sense of...candle scents. The woman seated her and introduced herself:
"Alright. My name is Cookie Crumbles - I know, odd name, isn't it? - and I'm the hostess of the restaurant serving as your waitress for tonight. Would you like a drink?"
"...Yes, please. Sweet tea with lemon on the side."
"Aw, that's sweet!" Cookie Crumbles giggled at her pun as she wrote her order, "Your date ordered the same drink...albeit without lemon. I'll be back with your beverage."
"Thank you." As Miss Crumbles walked off, Cristina contemplated for a moment's notice:
Huh. Apple cinnamon candles, sweet tea with or without lemons, ruby red roses... Whoever my date is, he has some great sense of...everything. "Everything" being my favorite interests. Was this guy (assuming my date is a guy) a serial stalker who, instead of being 11, was actually 31? No, no. Cristina, get your head out of the gutter. You don't have automatically assume anything of the sort...but you can expect the unexpected.
"Cristina?"
Cristina snapped out of her deep thoughts for a second time to glance down this time. Her eyes met with his. The eyes in question belonged to an African-American boy around her age dressed in a black-and-white suit with matching dress shoes and a silver-buckled belt (6). Is he...? He is...?
"Clyde...?"
"...You remembered my name?"
Cristina blinked in bewilderment, "Well, yeah. You're Lincoln's friend."
"...Oh. Okay. Well...what are you doing here?"
"It depends. What are you doing here?"
Clyde blanched blankly, as if that was even possible, "Oh. Uh... Well... I'm waiting for my date. She was supposed to arrive around this time."
"Funny. The same thing's happening to me. He's supposed to come here, too."
"Ha. I highly doubt it. Do you mind if I sit down with you? Maybe we can wait together."
"...Not at all."
"Oh. Okay then." Clyde then turned to walk away from Cristina's table, his smile somehow slightly faltering.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"I thought you said 'No'."
"You misinterpreted me. I meant as in 'No, I don't mind if you sit down with me'."
"..." Clyde could only stand and stare before muttering an "Oh."
Cristina motioned Clyde to a seat beside her, which he took with readily reluctance. At that time, Miss Crumbles returned with Clyde and Cristina's drinks,
"I'm so sorry, dear. There was a little accident in the kitchen, but I managed you and your date's drinks - Oh, is this him?"
Cristina and Clyde exchanged glances for the first time. (Cristina, Clyde, and Both)
"Yes."/ "No."
And then the second time.
"Yes." / "No."
And then the third time.
"Sure. Why not?"
Miss Crumbles cocked her head in doubt before smiling and serving them their beverages, "We'll see."
(7:00 PM)
Somehow, somewhat, for the next two hours, Clyde and Cristina ended up being each other's dates for the evening, no signs of their own arriving any time soon. However, they surprisingly shared some similarities (such as their hidden affinity for video games and comics) and enjoyed each other's company, making this quote-on-quote "date" wonderfully worthwhile.
"So, Cristina... I guess your secret admirer didn't show up after all, huh?" Clyde recalled the soul-searching subject from two hours earlier.
"Well, I wouldn't consider him a secret admirer, Clyde. If he were such, he would have the decency to show up tonight."
Well, technically, he did indeed, Cristina...
Suddenly, a round of cheers and applause went off like a gun, but Clyde still managed to make-out Cristina from all the commotion, "Is that...Lincoln?"
Clyde choked on his drink and faced Cristina's direction to find indeed Lincoln standing there on the dance floor. Worried that his best friend of all people might witness and tease him on a date (the term still used very loosely here), his worries eventually subsided when he saw another person with him acting as his presumed dance partner. This might be useful to my advantage...
"Clyde..."
Clyde turned to Cristina, who wore a disapproving expression masked by a cheeky grin, "Don't even think about it."
"No, I wasn't."
"Sure, you weren't. Come on."
Clyde and Cristina went over to the dance floor, where Lincoln and Ronnie Anne stood.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Ronnie Anne."
"Happy Valentine's Day...Lincoln."
Ronnie Anne softly kissed Lincoln on the tip of his nose and hugged him, Lincoln's primary thought being: Yes! She didn't call me "Lame-O" for once.
"Just don't get used to it...Lame-O." She giggled as she continued hugging him, who scoffed in annoyance.
I spoke too soon, didn't I?
"Yes, you did." His eyes widened and glanced towards her, but she feigned ignorance and continued hugging him in comfort. He shrugged and hugged her back, anyway.
Best. Valentine's Day. EVER!
"Lincoln?"
Lincoln's head shot up as he broke away from the hug, confusing Ronnie Anne. He and she turned around to find his former crush and the one girl who kept him running after her for all those years before the other her.
"Cristina...?"
Lincoln and Ronnie Anne observed Cristina from head to toe, from her golden hoop earrings to her black leather Mary Jane flats. What caught their attention was the dress she wore. Instead of her usual navy blue blouse, it was a dress with...complicated colors. It looked black-and-blue and gold-and-white.
"Hello, Lincoln." Cristina shot Lincoln a small yet sincere smile and acknowledged his girlfriend, "Ronnie Anne."
"Cristina." Ronnie Anne strained a small yet solid smile and acknowledged his boyfriend's former crush. She was undoubtedly uncomfortable at Cristina's appearance. Not with anger, but with regret instead.
"You're still not mad about that time in the hospital, are you?" Ronnie Anne couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
Cristina, instead of being mad, was being subtle, "Oh, no. Neither of us knew what we were thinking. We were both concerned for the same boy."
Lincoln glanced back and forth between his girlfriend and his former crush; no doubt jealousy had overcome him, "What? Who? What boy?"
Then Ronnie Anne and Cristina, after turning to the former's boyfriend / the latter's former crush, glanced back at each other,
"Is he always this dense?" Cristina made a confused hand gesture to Lincoln.
"Not entirely." Ronnie Anne shook her head and chuckled.
"Hey! I resent that!" Lincoln scowled just as Clyde walked over, having heard the conversation,
"It's true, actually."
"Clyde?" Lincoln was genuinely shocked by the sight of his best friend in a suit and tie, "What are you doing here?"
Realizing his mistake, Clyde shot a nervous look at Cristina, who shot him a nervous look in return, "Well... It's a funny story, actually."
A funny story that can be saved for another time...
Meanwhile, Clyde's dads watched from afar as their son interacted with his friends and date.
"Oh, this is sweet, isn't it, Harold?"
"Yes indeed, Howard. Indeed..."
A young lesbian couple approached their table, which just happened to be a few seats from the McBride patriarchs. The first girl had very pale spring green skin, pale light greyish opal/light grey hair, brilliant gold eyes, and a pink sparkle-sprinkled dress with matching heels. The second girl had light apple greenish grey skin, moderate cobalt blue hair with light fuchsia stripes, moderate cyan eyes, and a blue diamond-studded dress with matching flats.
"Aw, is that your son? He looks so handsome!" Girl #1 commented.
"Eh, the tie could use some work," Girl #2 remarked.
"What's wrong with neckties?"
"There's nothing wrong with neckties in this case...in spite of the fact I specifically said that bowties are the best kind."
"I concur," Harold turned around to face the girls, "and thank you for complimenting our son."
"Aw!" Girl #1 cooed after putting two and two together, "But of course! It's kinda my job. My name's Lyra Heartstrings, and this is my girlfriend Sweetie Drops."
"Oi! I prefer Bon-Bon, honey," Girl #2 chastised Lyra, tainting that last part with a drip of sarcasm. Lyra herself was unfazed by Sweetie's retort, resting her head affectionately on her shoulder as they sat down. Meanwhile, from a distance, another love interest of Clyde watched the "lovely" scene unfold.
Yeah, you saw the quotation marks there, right?
Haiku was no stranger when it came to romance, but how it felt was another thing entirely. With Clyde, she felt a strange sensation swirling in her stomach, shining a light upon her dark heart. She was the ice queen, and he was the...person who defrosted the ice queen's heart. A special kind of bond formed between them both, given their penchant for one-sided crushes (Clyde was to Lori as Haiku was to her 200-year-old vampire boy). Of course, this self-proclaimed unbreakable bond was indeed broken in quite the most...understandable way possible.
That damned floozy stole him from her.
Considering how she saw it...that was putting it kindly.
A/N: Just a short snippet for those wanting a Clyde-centric story. I am also working on a R-rated spin-off entitled "Valentine's Slay". No other details!
To wit, these stories don't necessarily have to be primarily romantic; they can be friendship-based as well. Also, for those wanting to see some essence of Howard x Harold / Clyde x Haiku, that last part was just apologetic temporal filler. Sorry...
Until then, Happy Early Valentine's Day to all!