1Disclaimer: I don't own Hide and Seek. But I will say, that is one AWESOME movie!
Pairings: OxS, UxY, and I guess, JxA
Chapter Title: Ceremony
Point of View: Odd
Author's Note: Casui, this is the "event" lol. To everyone else, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Took...four hours to write a proofread and I'm still not sure that it exactly makes sense. Enjoy!
Warnings: Insanity. Lol. Joking, kinda sappy, fluffy, mushiness. Enjoy and be warned!
I stood in front of the mirror, straightening my shirt for what must've been the-
"Odd, that's the thirteenth time you've checked you appearance in the past two minutes," Ulrich complained. Yep, that's right, he was here. He didn't exactly look...right...but he didn't look bad either. He looked ill, which he was, and he was sitting in his old desk chair, spinning slowly as he watched me.
"Sorry, just...nervous I guess," I muttered, as I turned to face him.
He laughed, shaking his head. "Your not even the one getting the award," he said. I shrugged, going and sitting on my bed, petting Kiwi nervously. He stood up on his hind legs, propping his front paws on my shoulder so that he could lick my face and I laughed a little.
"Thanks Buddy," I said, scratching his ears.
"I still can't believe your not wearing any purple," Ulrich stated, shaking his head.
"Hey! I am too!" I gestured to my hair, which still had the dab or streak or whatever of purple in it. He laughed a little and then looked at the clock.
"Guess we should head on over to the auditorium," he said. I nodded, grabbing the wrapped box and putting it in my pocket, then grabbed the roses. "Don't you think that's a bit...much?"
"No way. It's her big night, she deserves to be spoiled...by me," I protested.
"Yeah, but...two dozen roses? Can you even see over them?" he asked. I glared at him and opted for kicking him instead of hitting him. After all, wouldn't want to damage or drop the roses.
"Let's just go," I said. Ulrich laughed again, opening the door and letting me go first. We made our way downstairs and out to the auditorium. The girls were already there, as well as Jeremie.
"Hey," Ulrich said, going over and wrapping his arms around Yumi. She smiled back and I looked over at Jeremie.
"Where's Sam?"
"She's inside already. They have a special section set up for the students who placed," he replied. Then looked at me. "Have enough roses?" he teased. I sneered at him and Ulrich and Yumi laughed. If they were laughing at something they were saying to each other or at what Jeremie said was anyone's guess. I didn't want to know personally.
"Let's get our seats," Yumi said. We entered the auditorium and found seats in the middle of the middle row. I set the flowers down on a seat and Ulrich sat next to me, then Yumi, Aelita, and Jeremie.
"Did you see the display of the projects?" I asked.
"No, they said that they'll be on display after the awards are given," Jeremie told me. A man in a suit walked onto the stage, standing in front of a podium and cleared his throat. Silence rang supreme in the auditorium. I scanned the crowd by the stage, looking for Sam and finally spied her.
She was sitting on the aisle and was wearing a red dress. There were gold designs over it, I couldn't make out what they were from here, and she kept shifting around nervously. "Odd, stop drooling," Ulrich hissed in my ear.
I swatted him, glaring. "I was not drooling," I growled.
"Sure you weren't," Yumi laughed. I glared at them both.
"Leave me alone," I grumbled. They laughed quietly as the guy on stage began his speech.
"Good evening everyone! First I'd like to thank all of the young artists that have entered our contest. All of your projects were wonderful. Second, I'd like to thank the wonderful faculty of Kadic for allowing us to use their lovely auditorium for this ceremony!" he exclaimed into the microphone. "My name is Kevin Finnegan, and I am founder of the Finnegan House of Young Art," he added.
"Sounds stuck up to me," Ulrich muttered to us. We laughed quietly, invoking glares from the people next to us but we didn't care. Mr. Finnegan went on to talk about his Organization and the possible scholarships it offered for another few minutes.
"Now, let me introduce our winners. In the Elementary division, we shall start with third prize, second-grader, Alicia Appleton," he called.
"Poor kid," I muttered, the others nodded.
A girl about seven stood up and walked forward. She was handed a small trophy, check, and a certificate. "Second place goes to, Mr. Nathaniel Beauregarde of the fifth grade!" A boy about ten walked up to the stage and took his slightly larger trophy, check, and certificate. "And first prize goes to... third grader, Miss Alexandra Levin!" he called. A girl about eight or nine walked up and got her trophy, check and certificate.
There was a round of applause as all three children stood around their teachers who had been brought on stage and Mr. Finnegan and there was the flashing of many cameras going off. "Is it me, or does this whole event look staged?" Jeremie asked quietly.
"I agree," I replied.
"Now, onto the middle school division!" He paused as there was a ripple of applause. "Third place is Mr. Kyle McWaters of the seventh grade." An embarrassed teen climbed the steps and stood on stage. "Second place, sixth grader, Jessica Anne Wesson!" A girl with black hair joined the boy on the stage. "And first place goes to, eighth grader Lucas Jachovy," he called. A small boy with glasses joined them. They were each presented with the trophy, check, and certificate, then stood around Mr. Finnegan for the customary pictures.
"Sam's group is next," Yumi said.
"Duh," Ulrich muttered. She hit him in the arm and I smiled.
"And last, but most certainly not least, the Highschool Division. Third place, Colleen Doyle of the twelfth grade!" A girl with bright red hair climbed onto the stage. "It seems that we have a tie for second place, Miss Emily Hendrix of the tenth grade and Mr. Jason Black of the eleventh grade." A girl with blonde hair and a boy with glasses joined Colleen on the stage. "And first place goes to Miss Samantha Larson of the ninth grade."
Sam hesitantly stood and joined the others on the stage. There was a round of applause, picture snapping, and award giving. Then Mr. Finnegan took the microphone again. "Please enjoy snacks and drinks in the lobby of the auditorium and enjoy the wonderful artwork of all our winners!"
Everyone stood and I grabbed the flowers, going down to Sam. "Hey," I said when I was directly behind her.
She spun around and grinned. "Odd!"
"These are for you," I muttered, suddenly embarrassed. She grinned wider, shifting the trophy, check, and certificate into the bag she brought and taking the flowers.
"They're beautiful Odd. Thank you." She smelled them, then shifted to grab her bag.
"Here, I'll get it," I said. I took the bag and she laughed. "What?"
"You look funny with that. And not being in purple. Are you sure your...Odd?"
"I'm sure." I kissed her and she smiled. "Now, let me see that prize winning picture," I told her.
"Okay, okay, come on."
We met up with the others in the lobby and she brought us to her picture. It was a collage of...us. Like, all of us. Ulrich, Yumi, Jeremie, Aelita, myself, Kiwi, and Sam. I grinned at her. "It looks wonderful," I told her.
"Seriously, it does," Ulrich added. The others all agreed and Sam shrugged.
"Well, I worked hard on it. I'm glad it won first," she said. We all laughed and she glanced at her watch. "Shit, I have to go. Can you give me my bag Odd?"
"Here, I'll walk you home." She smiled and said goodbye and we left.
"So...why do you have to get home so early?" I asked.
"Ugh...just need to get home before my parents do. They don't...they didn't know about tonight," she replied.
"Why? Wouldn't you want them to be there?"
"No. Not really." We arrived at her house and I unlocked and opened the door for her. "Do you want to come in? Get something to drink? Or eat?"
"Sure, that'd be great," I replied, grinning at her. She smiled back.
"Put the bag anywhere, I'll be in the kitchen putting these in water," she called over her shoulder. I did as she told, setting the bag on the coffee table and following her into the kitchen. "Help yourself to whatever you want," she said, arranging the roses in a crystal vase. "There," she said, stepping back.
I walked over to her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her back against me. "You look beautiful tonight," I whisper in her ear. She shivers and turns to face me. "Here, I have something for you," I add.
"What? But...the roses...?" she asked.
"Sh..." I placed a finger on her lips and pulled out the box. "Here." She took it in trembling fingers and the silver wrapping glinted in the light. "Your supposed to open it," I tell her.
"I know that," she laughs. She leans against the counter, unwrapping it carefully to expose the velvet box beneath. I hear her breath catch and she looks up at me. "Odd..."
"Just...open it," I tell her, smiling nervously.
She laughs quietly and opens the box, gasping. "Odd..." she whispers, fingering the necklace inside.
"Do you like it? I didn't know if you liked hearts but...I don't know, I thought..."
"I love it," she replied, looking at me. "Can you help me put it on?"
"Sure," I replied, breathing easier. It was a nice necklace. It was a locket in the form of a heart, roses etched into the front and a nice little inscription on the back. She turned and I clasped the necklace around her neck. "Look at the back," I told her.
She turned it and I smiled when I heard her laugh. "'To you, love me'. How sweet," she laughed.
"Isn't it?" I asked, grinning. She shook her head, kissing me. I think I was in heaven. No wait, not even heaven could be this...well...heavenly. Yes, I'm weird, leave me alone.
"Want to make some popcorn and watch a movie?" she asks.
"Sure," I reply, grinning.
"Great, I'll put the bag in and run upstairs to change. Pick out a movie and put it on, okay?"
"Sounds good." She goes over to the pantry, grabs a bag of popcorn, puts it in the microwave then runs upstairs. I walk into the living room, and start browsing through the DVDs. The alarm for the popcorn goes off and I hear the microwave door open and a hiss as the bag is opened.
"Find something?" Sam asks, coming in and sitting on the sofa, the bowl of popcorn resting in her lap.
"How does Hide and Seek sound?" I ask.
"Sounds good." I put the movie in and go and stretch out beside her. She leans back against me so that we're both stretched out on the sofa, my arms wrapped around her and the popcorn resting on her stomach.
And that's how we fell asleep.
Author's Note: :looks back at writing: Geez...that's long, isn't it. Sorry guys! Hope you don't mind and that you enjoyed reading it! Lol. I'll update soon, I promise. But tomorrow is my niece's 8th bday party, so I can't promise anything!
