The siblings conflict had lasted up until around 6pm, and by then, Ty was a nervous wreck as he threw on a suit and tie. He normally knew when Abby was serious about things, but now he didn't know what ran through her mind.
On the other hand, Abby was sitting cross legged on her bed and hugging a pillow. She didn't mean half the stuff she had said, and she certainly knew Ty didn't want to kill Chester. Now Abby was sure the dance would be ruined for the both of them, especially if Kid Rot decided to make an appearance.
When she reflected back on her words, Abby realized just what Ty meant by Kid being hard to neutralize without full-on killing him. As much as she wanted to save Chester's life, she knew it would be a tricky task. In hindsight, Abby understood why her brother was so keen on stopping Kid. After all, he'd already lost a finger to the criminal, what else would he try and do?
Breathing out, Abby uncrossed her legs and placed the pillow down. Guilt washed over her as she felt awful about the whole thing, slowly standing up and heading towards the door. Would Ty accept her apology? Reaching for the doorknob, Abby jumped as the door swung open and Ty almost crashed into her.
"Ah-" Ty raised his hands up before moving them down to look at Abby. Well, this was unexpected.
"Uh- I guess I should say I was just going to apologize to you.." Ty drew out the last word and Abby's eyes grew big and round. After everything that happened Ty was sorry.
Unable to keep up her composure any longer, Abby broke into a sob and embraced her brother. She hardly ever cried, but the pressure from everything that happened last week crumbled down onto her. Ty leaned into Abby's hug and sniffed before slowly pulling away.
"Sorry, but I don't really plan on wearing a tear-stained suit to pick up Naomi." Ty feigned a smile and Abby laughed at his joke before wiping her face on her arm.
"Yeah, and I should really clean myself up before I get ready for the dance." Abby smoothed out her skirt and look Ty in the eyes, who's face went serious before he spoke.
"I'm sorry for dropping the bomb about Kid Rot right before the dance," Ty said "I should've thought more about how this would've affected your night.. and mine"
"No, it's my fault." Abby interjected, "You've already lost a finger and I know what you mean by wanting to go ahead and neutralize Kid. I was selfish for my own needs and I didn't even think about yours. I just wish-"
"That we could save Chester?" Ty interjected and crossed his arms before steadying a breath, "I was thinking about that, and I think we could actually try and see what happens"
Abby's eyes widened as one last tear trickled down her cheek. Was she- was she hearing things? Ty wanted to help her?
"If you think Kid Rot will actually appear at the dance, I'll see if we can lure him away and knock him out. From there, one of us could have Lab Rat's specialized gun on-hand just in case anything goes wrong."
"Do we have an on-sight surgeon working at the lab?" Abby raised an eyebrow before Ty responded
"We're an agency funded by the Director, a multi-millionaire man who could buy our house and everyone inside. I think he can cook something- or someone up." Ty smiled and Abby mimicked his actions, pumping a fist in the air as she cried out in happiness.
"YES!" Abby practically spinned around her room before she stopped herself and realized she had a little over an hour to get ready for the dance and get everything ready for the Kid Rot plan. Abby shooed a confused Ty away from her room and locked the door.
Only 75 minutes until the dance.
Abby wasn't one to take priority in making herself look good.
Sure, she dressed nice in public, but she never wore any makeup besides basic concealer and always styled her hair in a classic ponytail. But for something formal, she had decided to go the extra mile.
First, her mother had been so thrilled about the idea of Abby getting a date for the dance that she bought her daughter a cute and stylish dress. It was uncanny how Petunia seemed to be more up-to-date with trends than her daughter, and Abby would've pondered about it if she wasn't so focused on getting ready.
Petunia the proceeded to pull Abby to the car and drive her off to a professional hair stylist. Abby was no fan of hair salons (considering Fredrick Follicle was usually involved) but she made an expectation just this once. Deciding to go with a curled over-the-shoulder hairstyle, Abby lay relaxed in the salon chair as the stylist began to curl her hair.
Once the stylist had finally finished, Abby gazed into the mirror and opened her mouth. Her long, red hair was now gently laid in front of her left shoulder, small diamonds decorating the curls all the way to her knees. Abby wasn't used to seeing her hair this fancy or curly, and it made her wonder if she should curl it again sometime.
Whisked out of the salon back to her house with not a moment to spare, Abby slipped on the silver dress her mom had bought and pulled up a makeup tutorial on her phone. With no makeup of her own, Abby dug through her mother's makeup bags and fished out everything she needed. Abby then remembered just how "well" it had gone when she tried to apply her own makeup, and begrudgingly asked Petunia if she could do it instead.
Only 45 minutes until the dance
Meanwhile, Ty was enduring a talk from his father about how to properly treat a girl.
"Make her feel special! Grab her some flowers-"
"She's allergic, Dad!"
Harvey stopped mid-sentence with his finger in the air as his face fell. How would his son manage to impress the poor girl without flowers?! Ty didn't seem to be too focused on his words, instead slathering on concealer by the pound. He had just noticed a small zit on his forehead, and he was now in a state of unmeasurable panic.
Seeing just how freaked out Ty was, Harvey gave a sad smile and left the room, not wanting to interfere with his sons CLEARLY stress induced panic.
Once the door had shut, Ty screamed into his hands. Just how was he supposed to pick Naomi up now?! She'd notice his awful acne and lead without a word! This was going to be the worst night ev-
"Ty, are you ready? Greg's on his way to pick me up and Dad's ready for you!" Abby opened the door and Ty's eyes practically popped out of his head at the sight of his sister in makeup.
"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH ABBY!?" Ty jokingly accused as the girl in question punched his arm and pulled him up off his seat.
"Woah there! You might wanna lay of your concealer." Abby grabbed a tissue and blotted Ty's face, while the boy stuck out his tongue and tried to fight her off. When she finally decided he looked better, Abby tossed Ty's shoes towards him and he almost fell over trying to grab them.
"Before I leave, do you have an emergency mini-goopshooter and your grossmeter on you? Call me when you arrive at the dance, and we'll take a course of action from there." Abby asked Ty, who gave a thumbs up. Nodding in response, Abby dashed down the stairs and to the front door.
Only 15 minutes until the dance.
Greg Bradshaw was an average boy with an average life.
He made normal grades in school, had normal popularity, and had a normal group of friends. In fact, he'd say he was probably the most normal kid at Ringworm High.
So obviously, he wanted to take a normal girl to his normal school dance, and who better than Abby Archer? He didn't harbor any romantic feelings towards her, but she was an intelligent girl with a love for nature he respected.
Now driving in his normal car with his newly acquired driver's license, Greg followed the GPS towards the Archer residence. When the house appeared in his field of vision, he smiled at the excellent timing right as the clock hit 7:30 pm. Pulling out by the mailbox, Greg looked outside towards the Archer's porch and noticed a fancy looking girl who could only be Abby.
The blond's eyes widened at just how different Abby looked and couldn't hide the growing blush on his face. She stepped towards the car and gave a smile which only darkened Greg's blush. Scampering out of the car, Greg rushed towards the door to open it as Abby slipped inside.
"Well, aren't you a gentleman?" Abby teased as Greg turned his car key and flashed a nervous grin. Why was he like this? Abby didn't make him feel like this before, so what was new?
"I try my best to be one." Greg responded and adjusted his mirror before driving off into the night.
Ty sat nervously in the front seat of his parent's car, Harvey driving on the road towards Naomi's house.
Picking up a girl for a date would be nerve-racking for anybody, especially someone like Ty. Although he'd been to Naomi's house before, her athlete brothers and intimidating father never failed to put him on edge. What if he messed something up? Would they wring him out like a dishrag?
Right as Harvey pulled up, Ty shakily got out of the car and steadied a breath. Slowly making his way to the front door, Ty reached for the doorbell but the door opened without warning and Ty found himself face to face with none other than Naomi's father, Nathaniel Robbins.
"Uh H-hello Mr. Robbins! I'm here to pick up Naomi.." Ty feigned a smile as Mr. Robbins only raised an eyebrow and huffed. Worried he had upset the man, Ty prepared himself to be yelled at when a familiar voice broke the silence.
"Dad! You said you wouldn't scare Ty!" Naomi pushed her way past her father, who instantly softened up as he saw his baby girl in a long, blue dress. Tears were in Mr. Robbins eyes as Naomi joined her hand with Ty's and pulled him towards the car, waving to her father with her other hand.
"I'm sorry! Dad always managed to do this to people." Naomi said as she approached the car's back doors, causing Ty to raise his hands in panic.
"No no! It's fine! He's your father and I'm not exactly the image of a athletic boyfriend.." Ty's voice trailed off as he got in the car and Naomi grabbed his face.
"Well, I think you're the best boyfriend in the world!" Naomi leaned in and kissed her Ty, who blushed furiously until a voice piped up and interrupted them.
"Hey? Are you kids busy, or do you wanna hear some tunes!"
Ty burried his face in his hands at his father's actions while Naomi giggled
It was 7:58 when Greg pulled into Ringworm's parking lot and smoothed out his hair. Opening Abby's car door, he fished for the gift he'd left for her.
"Here, a rose for a rose.." Greg half-bowed and presented Abby with a red rose tied with a white ribbon. Abby accepted the rose and blushed at Greg's attempt at flirting. Could this be her chance to score a boyfriend?
The sound of a horn honking startled the duo out of their interaction as Harvey pulled into the parking lot and Ty exited the car alongside Naomi. Abby waved the couple over and introduced her date while Ty realized he had completely forgotten about Naomi's gift and grabbed it out of his pocket as the four teenagers made their way to the school's front door.
"Naomi, I er- forgot to give this to you earlier but, HEREYOUGO!" Ty slammed his words together as Naomi accepted the box, eyes sparkling as she opened it and pulled out a beautiful promise ring with a fake diamond in the center. Ty put her hand in his and slipped on the ring which fit perfectly.
"Ty this is.." Naomi started as a big smile formed on her face, "This is beautiful! I love it!"
Without warning, Naomi jumped into Ty's arms and placed a messy kiss on his lips, effectively smearing a bit of lipstick on his cheek. Ty could only blush as he kissed his girlfriend back.
From inside the school, Abby watched her brother and Naomi with a smile, which quickly turned sad as she realized just how lonely she was. It seemed like she'd never find anyone to love like Ty loved his girlfriend, and it stung more than she'd like to admit. A hand was placed on Abby's shoulder as she straightened her back and locked eyes with Greg, who offered a hand towards her.
"Are you ready to head towards the gym?"
"Yeah, let me place my rose in the locker to pick up after the dance." Abby responded as she twirled the flower between her fingers and walked towards her locker. Unlocking her locker, Abby placed the rose gently on top of her science textbook and closed the door. With a quick look around the school hall, Abby made her way back to Greg and placed her hand in his.
Maybe the dance wouldn't be too bad after all..
Inside the green locker, Abby's rose lay in a perfect position for a while. However, the sound of the locker being forced open scrambled the books inside, causing the rose to fall before it was caught by a dark hand. Without warning, the flower melted into a puddle of gunk, dripping through the hand's fingers as it released the former flower onto the floor.
Now a unrecognizable pile of black gunk, the flower was stomped on by an old boot before the locker door slammed shut and the sounds of someone's voice filled the empty halls.
"Get ready Ringworm- HERE COMES KID ROT!"
A/N: And that's part one of the dance! This will be the only two-part chapter in the book, and the second part might be a bit shorter to split it up evenly.
In Remembrance of a Past Self is almost finished! I have the second dance part and two more chapters left before I end the story! However, there will be a sequel coming out after I finish this book. As for what it's about, you'll have to wait and see..
Thanks for reading!