Chapter 9: Shopping For New Clothes

Earth: March 1, 2014 ; 7:24 AM

The morning was quite peaceful, such was the sound of chirping birds and the light whistle of the wind. With the peaceful weekend came the opportunity to turn the alarm off, and Raph had taken advantage of that blissful opportunity to sleep in late. As he rolled over in his gentle slumber, his dream world was suddenly ravaged and razed by the sensation of an impact striking his body.

"Gah!" With a shock on the level of a heart attack, Raph's eyes opened to the sight of his room around him.

And the sight of Ram pummeling him to death.

"Get up, sleepyhead! Breakfast's gonna get cold, dummy!" Ram wailed obnoxiously as she grabbed a pillow and began smacking him straight in the face with it. The soft sensation was annoying, enough to make him NOT go back to sleep.

"Alright, alright!" Raph complained, holding a hand up in an attempt to defend from the strikes that were far stronger than an ordinary elementary grade girl. "Wait, you're stronger than a normal little girl! Stop it! Alright, I'll get up! Gimme a break!"

"Haha! If you don't, I'm gonna smother you!" Ram remarked, with words that sounded far darker than they should have been.

"Ram, it's not gonna be good if you smother him. We need him alive. Besides, we're waking up Neptune next, and she'll eat everything " Rom popped out from behind her, hiding her face.

After a solid minute of a flurry of feathers and stuffing, Raph managed to escape the twins and leave the room in a hurry. He rushed down to the kitchen, hoping the food had not been devoured completely.

It had been already been a few days since the start of their routine. And now that it was the Saturday of the week, the other three guys were going to come around today.

But today, the plan was a little different. It wasn't going to be the usual hangout.

Instead, they were going to go shopping.

"Hey, Raph. Breakfast's on the table. We ate already." As Raph entered the kitchen, Nepgear turned around and greeted him as she removed her apron and folded it.

"Cool. Thanks." Raph replied, sitting down and beginning to eat his share.

"So, is today going to push through?" Noire asked asked she walked through the door.

"Yeah, of course. Nothing came up. Grape and the others should be coming around soon enough. Especially Grape. He comes early." Raph commented, a slight air of irritation on his face as he ate another spoonful of his food.

"Yes, I do!"

Raph turned around, and he saw Grape burst into the room carrying Neptune on his shoulders.

Raph just gave him a look. "What are you doing?"

"Neptune attempted to ambush me from the balcony above your front door when I came in, and things just ended up like this." Grape replied, and he adjusted her weight on his shoulders.

"He's much more compliant than Ms. No Friends and Lady Breastsalot." Neptune added, repeatedly lightly striking the top of Grape's head. "Now, my mighty steed! To the living room!"

With a whoop and cheer, the pair exited the room. Raph just shook his head and finished his breakfast.

I'm just glad that when we go shopping, we actually have some savings. I get the feeling we're going to need it all.

Earth: March 1, 2014 ; 10:17 AM

"Hey, guys." Kyle greeted the group as they entered through the automatic sliding doors, sipping a cup of coffee as he did.

"Neptune, what are you doing?" Noire turned to look at the purple haired CPU, who was busy admiring the sliding door.

"I HAVE THE FORCE!" She screamed in excitement as she began extending her hands back and forth in repeated pushing motions. The nearby security guards just stared at her in confusion.

Noire walked forward, muttering "I don't know her" silently as she grabbed her by the cuff of her neck and dragged her away from the door.

"If you don't know her, then why would you drag her away?" Kyle asked Noire, who just slapped him while walking away.

"Just...you...never mind." Kyle gave up and began walking after her dejectedly.

"Aren't you glad we got my aunt's van for this?" Raph said, beaming proudly.

"Yeah, makes things easier." Matt replied, stretching his arms upwards.

"Your fams are real cool." Grape replied, and Raph just shot him a look.

"Fams?" Raph asked, holding his hands up in tandem with his bewildered expression.

"Yeah. Fams." Grape replied, shooting a thumbs up.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Fams? No one uses fams!"

"Then I'll start a craze."

"Never mind. I give up with you."

"If you use that word too much, I'll snap you in half." Matt interjected, his face dark with murderous intent.

"You know, I can imagine that. Like...you know, Bane style." Neptune returned, skipping forward over to them.

They continued walking, the picture of Matt breaking Grape in half still in mind.

"So, we're at the department store." Neptune announced, standing at the very front of the store, the employees at the entrance trying not to notice her. "Now what?"

"Of course, we go in." Noire replied, her hands on her hips.

"I dunno, man. Maybe we start breakdancing in front or something."

The other three CPUs just walked past her, trying to ignore her statement and entering the department store. The Candidates followed along, leaving the four guys and Neptune behind.

"I've been betrayed!" Neptune cried out. "Wait for meeeeeeeeeeeee!" With that, she ran inside.

"Don't you get the feeling that we need to keep them on a leash?" Kyle asked as he walked in, feeling a pit in his stomach. He had no desire to cause a scene.

And getting arrested on behalf of their otherworldly guests was the last thing he wanted.

"Well, at least it's all interesting. Even if they're idiotic at times, they're not stupid. They've got secure enough heads on their shoulders to ensure that they don't end up doing something irreversibly stupid." Grape said reassuringly as he walked into the department store entrance as well, politely greeting the guard as he went in.

"Well...now we've got to take what's coming to us. The women's section."

Matt mock screamed as Kyle hauntingly uttered the name of the department that they just walked into, and then they both laughed and shivered at the same time.

"C'mon, guys. Do you not enjoy shopping? You should build up tolerance now. If ever you fall in love and she wants to go shopping, you've gotta learn how to tolerate shopping. Now come with me. We've got complimenting and waiting to do." With that, Grape grabbed Matt and Kyle by the cuffs of their wrists and began dragging them through screaming and kicking.

Raph just walked alongside, trying his utter best not to look like he had a part in what looked like a ragged torture method for men.

As they stopped by the chairs closest to where the girls were browsing, Grape sat the two down and put his arms on his waist.

"Now. Lesson number one. You never complain. You never ask if they're going to be done soon or if they're going to go do something else soon. You've gotta give women their time and their space when they're shopping." Grape held his finger up like he was a teacher or a parent lecturing inexperienced children.

"It's so boring! What the hell are men supposed to do when they're here?!" Matt yelled, and Grape quickly swatted him on the cheek. Before Matt could even have the time to get mad, Grape held up his finger and waved it back and forth.

"Now, now. This is the second lesson. Always bring something you can occupy your time with. Why do you think I have this?" Grape readjusted his messenger bag and pulled out an iPad. "Never underestimate how long women can take when shopping. As such, be thoroughly ready when it happens." He pulled out two more iPads and three iPhones, and Matt and Kyle just stared at him in joint confusion.

"Why do you have those? And...can I borrow one?" Matt asked Grape, and Grape just chuckled and handed him one. He handed Kyle and Raph the other two, and they just looked at him.

"What are you going to do, then?" Kyle asked him, and Grape just sighed.

"What else? I'm going to go over to them, suggest options and help them pick the right clothes for them. It's a whole other department, and one that isn't yours. No offense, but you know I'm right." Grape said before walking over to the girls, leaving the three with his gadgets.

As Grape walked over to the section, he heard the sound of his name being called. He looked over the shelves and spotted Noire waving. He jogged over to them.

"What do you need?" Grape asked them, breathing a little more heavily since he wasn't that fit and his physical endurance was unbearably low.

"What are the common fashion trends around here? If we're going to buy clothes, we should get clothes that help us fit in. I figure you and the other three could help...but I see the other three are over there." Noire said, glancing at the three boys on the seats nearby.

"Yeah. Well, this isn't their strong suit, so they're cool with it. I, on the other hand, can help." Grape replied, meeting his fist with his chest.

"Alright, then." Blanc came out from behind the clothes rack adjacent to Grape. "Then, what should we do? What should we get?"

Grape just smiled and clapped his hands together.

It had already been four hours, and Raph and the others were already beginning to get bored of the tablets. They decided to lock the tablets and ask Grape if the girls were done. As they stood up and looked around, they spotted his figure near the changing stalls, leaning with his back to the wall with his arms crossed and one leg on the wall.

"Hey, how's it gone so far?" Raph asked, and Grape just smiled and sighed tiredly.

"Pretty okay. I've found around...yeah, four sets of outfits for each of them. And they all look pretty good."

"PRETTY GOOD?! HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU THINK IS RIDING ON THIS?!" Matt reacted violently, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him. Without warning, Grape broke out of his grip and shushed him.

"Lesson three. Never be concerned about how much money it costs." Grape said in a hushed whisper, which was a low mutter with his naturally loud voice. "You only talk about price when she's concerned about the price. This is one of the more important traits of a gentleman."

"What are you talking about?You took us to a high-end mall and a high-end department store with guys who usually don't even care about clothes. We're gonna die if we can't pay for them." Kyle remarked, crossing his arms.

"Well, I managed to negotiate for a pretty massive budget on my part. If you guys can't help, I think it would be enough to settle the cost alone. I'll be pretty broke for a while, though." Grape laughed at the end, though it carried a slight hint of hesitation and bitterness in it.

"No, we're going to pay together. What we can't pay, you pay. And we'll help reimburse you." Raph concluded decisively, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Just then, as the conversation ended, a new thought entered Raph's mind. One that he'd been pondering for a good while, but never thought to bring up.

"Hey. You know that your Formal Night's over, right?" Raph asked Grape, and Grape nodded in agreement.

"The one that's like prom, but with a far smaller budget?" Raph just sighed and nodded, defeated, at Grape's comment. It was true. "Your class organized it for my class."

"Well, you're organizing it for us. And it's next week." Matt said, and Grape nodded.

"You guys bringing any guests?" Grape asked, and Raph looked at him.

"Actually, I've been thinking about it. People keep bugging and teasing us about it, and I think I have the perfect solution to shut them up." Raph began, and Kyle gave him an uneasy smile.

"Are you seriously...?"Kyle trailed off, and Grape just finished the statement.

"Bringing one of the CPUs, are you? Shooting for 5 stars, eh?" Grape grinned, and Raph just chuckled.

"Well, you know, if they say yes. I mean...well...it's not like they don't like us or anything like that...it's kinda like an activity to get them to learn more about Earth...and I can get a date." Raph muttered, his voice getting quieter and smaller with every passing second. Grape just looked at him and listened to him silently, nodding with each uncomfortable statement.

"I'm sure you realize that you're technically going to ask them out on a date if you go through with this." Kyle commented, and Raph just sighed and hung his head again.

"Well, me and Matt." Matt suddenly started, his reaction nearly as violent as usual.

"Hey, hey, hey! Wait a second, I never agreed to any of this!" Matt replied, turning slightly red as he vehemently denied the notion. Raph just gave him a knowing look and grinned.

"Even if you were so thinking about it?" Matt just turned away and scratched his head at the words.

"Well...even if I was thinking it, there's no telling if they'd agree." Matt just hung his head and sighed, and Raph joined him.

Grape just took a good look at the two of them and sighed as well, placing his hands on both of their shoulders.

"Look, guys. Trying never really hurt anyone. And besides, they should try to get a little fun out of this entire thing even if we have a massive threat of doomsday and death looming over Earth. In fact, all the more reason to try and slip some moments of fun in between. If, and only if, we do something astronomically stupid and we all die, then at least we got some enjoyment out of it. Besides, you're teenagers! Come on, man! The prime of youth! This is the kind of stuff I love imagining! Romcom situations, drama all around and flustered blushing when it's most appropriate! A normal life wouldn't allow us a good chance within the next three years, yet here we are now! Besides, now's just a good a time as any to try your luck and build up experience. People don't get good at something without doing anything. It's kinda like Pokemon: experience points make you stronger. Look, in the end, it's entirely your choice to ask them out or not. But my point is that you should. For your benefit and for theirs. Let them enjoy themselves. It's only weird if you make it weird, anyway."

The three of them just stared at Grape as he finished his quiet speech. He just sighed at the end and took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a heartbeat. He opened them again and just laughed.

"Look. In the end, just make the choice you'll regret the least. The one you'll have the most fun with." With that, he just pushed himself off of the wall and walked over to the changing room next to them.

"What if they take it the wrong way? I mean...it's possible." Matt said nervously. "We are asking them out."

"You worry too much." Kyle said, laughing as he did, and gently tapped the back of Matt's head with his fist. "Besides, you're asking them to be your guests. Not necessarily a date. And it's highly recommended to bring a date at this event your school hosts, anyway."

"He's right. I did that, remember?" Grape said, and they recalled to the Formal Night event that took place for his class some time ago.

Indeed, he did bring his childhood friend. As a friend. Not as a date.

"Well...I dunno." Matt replied, obviously still a tad uncomfortable with the thought."

"Tell you what." Raph started, and he held a fist out to Matt. "If you bring one, I'll bring one too. I'll try my best, anyway. No promises if they turn me down."

"Try it this year and have a little fun. You won't have to bring anyone next year. Assuming that we stay alive until then." Grape said as he walked back to their group and took Matt's wrist and raised it up. He slowly began moving it towards Raph's own fist, and Matt just sighed, slumped and bumped fists with Raph.

"Fine, I'll do it. But you'd better do it too, or I'll kill you to death." Raph just smiled at the nonsensical statement.

"Got it."

"Alright! With that, allow me to present to you one outfit from each girl! Ladies, runway time!" Without warning, Grape raised his voice and began clapping. As Raph, Matt and Kyle just stared wide-eyed at him, Grape just winked at them and raised his hands.

"COOOOOOMIIIIIIIIIIIIING~!" With a melodic yodel from Neptune and a squeal from Noire, the eight girls walked out of the rooms and in front of the four boys.

"Behold their carefully chosen outfits." Grape announced proudly, puffing out his chest and raising one arm in a 'behold' fashion.

Neptune was wearing a white hoodie with the hood down, the hood adjustment laces coming out of holes positioned around her neck. Under the unzipped jacket, she was clad in a dark purple tank-top with a pink collar. On the front of the shirt, right on her chest, was a white controller drawn very comically on it. Under that, she wore a pair of light blue denim shorts that were folded at the knees along with a pair of white rubber shoes, giving her a very fresh and sporty look. Tomboyish, even. She winked and twirled in place, showing off the rest of her look.

Noire was wearing a light gray t-shirt with a black collar, complete with the imprint of a stuffed bear on it. Her ribbons had been switched out with white ones. She wore a pair of dark blue denim jeans and black flat shoes, designed with a spade at the tip of the toe. She just huffed and averted her face when she looked at them.

Blanc was wearing a long sleeved brown shirt, with a lighter shade of brown for the collar and imprinted with a snowflake, underneath a white vest with the flaps of the collar flat to the sides. She wore a pair of brown skinny jeans as well, complementing her white sandals. She just looked blankly at the four of them, though one could see the slight red on her cheeks.

Vert was wearing a simple long sleeved, dark green blouse with a slightly lighter shade of green on the hem of her sleeves and her collar. An imprint of the flag of England was smack dab on her chest, and it looked distorted thanks to her breasts. The buttons holding it together were olive colored. Below that, she wore a white, slightly translucent skirt that flowed down glamorously to her shins. She wore green heel shoes that had a four leaf clover made of leather on the center of each shoe. She winked and crossed her arms under her chest like she usually does.

Nepgear was wearing a plain and simple lavender t-shirt for her top, and she wore a new hair clip that was in the shape of a cure, square robot head. She wore black jeans and white sneakers with magenta accents. She just waved quietly at the four guys with a smile on her face.

Uni was wearing a black polo t-shirt with light blue accents on the collar and the cuff of the sleeves that stopped at her upper arms. She wore a pair of black slacks and a pair of white and black sneakers. She was not looking at the guys, too happy with her new look to notice. She was just admiring herself in the mirror instead.

Ram was wearing a small pink dress with a light pink ribbon tied at the front. She was wearing a sunhat on her head that was angled to the right, and she was wearing a white skirt that reached her ankles. Her feet were adorned with pink Mary Jane shoes. Rom was wearing an identical outfit, only light blue in difference and her sunhat was angled off to the opposite side. They were just fixing up each other's looks, not paying any heed to the guys.

"Voila! What do you think? This is but one of four outfits! You won't get the see the rest today!" Grape declared proudly, and the other guys just stared at them.

They looked good.

Very good.

Already, Raph, Matt and Kyle were noticing the stares that people were shooting at the collection of girls in front of them.

"No wonder you wore that." Raph muttered, turning to Grape.

"Hmm? This?" Grape replied, gesturing to his outfit. He was wearing a black polo t-shirt with light green stripes on the cuffs of his sleeves. He wore a pair of black slacks along with a belt that had a designer name printed on the front over black and silver stripes of steel. He also wore a pair of black sneakers and white sneakers that looked really clean. On his wrist was his usual black and silver watch. "I just find these clothes comfy and easy to relax in. You don't look very bad yourself, you know."

Raph was wearing a thin grey, black and white checkered short-sleeved polo shirt over a white t-shirt, complemented by a pair of denim jeans and sneakers. His dark-blue framed glasses worked well with his outfit.

Matt was wearing a white long-sleeved polo shirt with a pair of blue jeans and brown flat shoes.

And Kyle, along with his black framed glasses, was wearing a navy blue collared shirt with a pair of navy blue denim jeans to match. To conclude, he wore a pair of black high-cut sneakers

"Anyway, I'm going to go with them to pay for the outfits. It's already getting closer to lunchtime, so do you wanna grab us a seat at a nearby place?" Grape proposed, motioning for the girls to grab the rest of their clothes. They filed out in a straight line and into the changing rooms.

"Sure." They agreed readily. "There's a McDonalds quite close to here."

"Alright then. Divide and conquer, people!" Grape called as he moved towards the cashier with the girls, and the rest of the guys out of the store.

Earth: March 1, 2014 ; 1:03 AM

"Ahh!" Neptune exclaimed as she stretched her arms towards the ceiling. "This mall's pretty awesome. I haven't gone shopping in so long, especially with anyone else! Last time was...how many years was that ago, Nep. Jr?"

Nepgear just smiled and shrugged. "Around ten years ago, I guess."

"Wow. Well, whatever! Now that I get a better look at it, this mall's pretty cool! It's got loads of stuff!" Neptune, looking like a little child, began admiring every store from left to right with shining eyes.

"This place is called Tockvell Mall, also nicknamed the Power Plant since it used to be one. It's a higher end mall than most of the ones around here, so it's got a load of stuff. My mom also works close to here, so I ended up memorizing everything around here. Our malls still suck compared to the best ones around the world, though." Grape laughed as he walked.

"Well, at least we managed to get you guys clothes. Grape, I have say, you did pretty well with their outfits." Raph commented, eying the girls' outfits.

"Hey! No staring!" Noire replied, flailing her arms at Raph. As he defended himself, the others just laughed and paid it no mind.

"Well, now we eat. It's on the lower floors, so the walk's a little long." Kyle helpfully added in.

"Do we have time to shop for other things? I want to browse for books and other things if we can." Blanc asked, catching Grape's attention by poking him on the shoulder.

"Ah, don't worry. I know where everything is, and there's a massive bookstore up on the top floor next to the movie theater. On the same floor, there's a video game store, arcade, several toy stores, and a CD and DVD store as well as some gadget shops." Grape replied, and he suddenly realized that the girls' eyes had gone from casual and normal to sparkling.

"Well, we can pass by. But I don't know if we can actually buy something. I'm sure those outfits cost quite a bit." Kyle noted, hefting his share of the bags.

"Don't worry, there was a sale going on. Not to mention that I've got some membership cards from my mom today. So we lessened more than half the financial blow." Grape replied, fishing his wallet out of his pocket and jingling it before stuffing it back in.

"We can save that for another time, then. We can at least take a look. Do some window shopping." Vert replied curtly.

"That aside...we're here!" Matt declared as he pointed to the massive McDonalds sign on the top of the entrance. Around them, people were eating on lots of tables. Many vacant, it seemed.

"Huh. Not a lot of people here today, it seems." Noire pointed out as they walked in. "Doesn't really get rid of the feeling of being stared at, though."

"Today was convenient. There were some huge sales taking place in another mall on another route from here. That, and there seems to be some concerts today. So the mall's pretty barren compared to what it usually looks like." Grape injected as he offered a seat to the girls at a few vacant tables. "So, what do you guys-"

"BFF BURGER BUNDLE!" Matt interrupted before getting swatted by Raph on his arm.

"No. We do that, and we'll have to get them one each, too. Let's just get standard orders." Raph replied as he sat down, and Matt just mumbled incomprehensible dialogue as he sat down next to Raph.

"There's a lot of us, though. Can we, like, order as one or something?" Nepgear asked, and Noire leaned forward and nodded.

"It'll be troublesome to have to take everyone's individual orders. Maybe you can set a budget and we can all put our orders under one representative." Noire proposed.

"Agreed. That sounds wise." Vert concluded, crossing her legs and her arms as well whilst leaning back onto the cushioned seat.

"It's agreed, then. We'll set your allowances for lunch, if that's the case." Grape said, standing up and grabbing a bunch of tissues and pulling a pen from his bag. "Give me your orders. I'll write them down and order, and I'll hand out the allowances for lunch."

"Yay! Thanks, daddy!" Neptune exclaimed, and he just grinned in reply.

"Anytime, little daughter of mine. Now, if you don't spend the money wisely, be prepared for a grounding." He teased, and Neptune just reacted by leaning backwards with her hands in the air.

"Ack! Grounding already?! You can't ground us! We live with Raph, so he's the real dad. And only the real dad can ground us! Right, Raphy?" Neptune quickly defended, pointing at Raph for what seemed like his cue.

Raph just shook his head, trying to massage his temples. "I will ground you if you keep giving me a headache. And people are staring at us, so cut it out."

Neptune just reacted exactly like she did to Grape's statement. "Yikes. Okay, better follow what the daddies say." She then met Grape's gaze, and then they both just started laughing.

After a minute of ordering, Grape returned with two staff members. Both were holding two trays of food, and so was Grape. The three of them began laying out the orders accordingly. As the two staff members finished up, Grape thanked them politely and dismissed them. He sat down with the other guys on one table, while the CPUs sat at one table with the CPU Candidates at the other.

"Woah, check out the Happy Meal Toy! Pretty awesome!" Ram exclaimed, tearing the plastic bag and triumphantly holding up the Pokeball in the air like a trophy.

"Yeah, I got the Piplup one." Ram added quietly, admiring her blue Pokeball in contrast to Ram's Chimchar one.

"Remember to eat the food too, and not just play with the toys, you two." Nepgear reminded them, and Ram just stuck her tongue out before taking another bite of her chicken.

"Food's not bad here, actually. You're missing out if you don't, Rom." Uni offered gently, and Rom just nodded obediently and took another sip of her cola.

"Hey, Noire! Bet I can finish my five burgers before you finish your chickens! We game?" Neptune offered, not any more mature than the two elementary grade girls at the other table.

"No, I'd rather savor my food, thank you very much. You should probably do the same." Noire curtly denied the bet, and Neptune just sagged her shoulders.

"Boo! I do savor my food, but I don't slow down and hesitate when enjoying it to its fullest." Neptune returned, but Noire did not care to argue about that any longer. Neptune quickly lost interest and sat back down, wolfing down her third burger.

"...you never seem to get full, anyway." Blanc commented, nibbling at her chicken nuggets.

"I'm quite sure she'll be finishing her food within the next five minutes, still feel hungry and try to order more. Presumably, an order as big as the first." Vert predicted, munching on her French fries.

"Are you an esper?! How do you know what I'm thinking? Or perhaps...CAN YOU SEE THE FUTURE?!" Neptune gasped, and Vert just sighed and sipped on her cola.

Unbeknownst to them, their guides were having their own interesting conversation.

"And? Who are you planning to ask?" Kyle muttered in his quiet, low voice to Raph and Matt sitting next to each other across the table.

"Actually, now that I think about it, I have no idea." Raph confessed, and Matt nodded.

"Yeah, I have no idea either. I don't even know how to ask it." Matt said, and Grape just chucked as he sipped his iced tea.

"Well, whatever you do, be sure to make the choice soon. Tell me who you pick, alright? I managed to grab their measurements earlier, so I can sneak some clothes for whomever you select." Grape said calmly, though the rest of them were not.

"How...did you...?" Kyle didn't even finish the question before Grape answered.

"I said they were cousins and I was planning a family event, and they were too shy to buy their own formal clothes. So I managed to get the sizes through a copy of the receipt that detailed the sizes of each article of clothing." Grape explained calmly, clearly not fazed by the bewildered stares of his friends. He just took three fries, downed them in one mouthful, and looked to the two of them. "More importantly, you guys need to make your decision. Formal Night may be a cheap event, but in this case, it's no joke. It's the equivalent to a rare Love Point gain event that can shoot you up the scale by five points per smooth move. There are a lot of variables in all of this, but that's my job. It's your job to take the pick. And whomever you pick, I'll be backing you accordingly."

The two of them just fell into deep thought and silence, trying to make their decision.

And so, lunch passed by.

Hi there, guys! As a little fun from zezdy555 and I, we both agreed let to let this go through a democratic process for once. You, the viewers, will be given the opportunity to decide who takes who! Think of this Formal Night event as prom, but just not nearly as expensive. Your choices are everyone EXCEPT for Rom and Ram merely because we decided that it'd be a little strange for the guys to take kids when they actually had the opportunity to bring either a girl their age or a guy friend. Insinuates pedophilia, so we won't. :D

We leave the polls open to you for who Matt and Raph should bring. You can leave your suggestions as Reviews or PMs whichever you want. Hope to see the vote soon, and thanks in advance for the suggestions. We'll give you guys some time to write your suggestions before the next chapter. And I hope you guys look forward to the next chapter because we look forward to writing it.