A/N: We have ourselves another interesting development here... I still cannot believe that we are still working on this monster of a story after all of this time, however, our timing could not have worked out better. Albertson really wanted to start releasing this story last June, though unfortunately, it wasn't feasible for two reasons: 1) This story was still only in the planning stages at the time, and 2) I was still working on finishing up Tears of a Clone for its Father's Day release.
Now, here we are, June of the following year, which means we can now make up for what we missed out on last year: updating our story during Pride Month; as I said, this timing could not have worked out better.
Okay, enough about that, let us carry on...
February had arrived with something of a surprise for Royal Woods: although the chill of late winter still remained in the air, it seemed that Punxsutawney Phil's prediction of an early spring may actually have been accurate for a change this year. Hints of green had already begun to pop up in the bare trees around town; it felt like such a promising sign that warmer weather and brighter days were on the horizon.
Another Friday afternoon had concluded the regularly scheduled school day for Royal Woods High, and the various after school electives and clubs had convened; in the theater club, for some reason or other, there seemed to be a sense of chaos in the auditorium on that particular day, and among the mayhem that was present upon the stage was a certain ponytailed girl on a frantic search for a missing comedy prop.
"Has anybody seen my banana peel?" She asked, as she looked around the stage with her wooden companion. "I'm missing one of my banana peels!"
"Gee, simmer down there, toots," said Mr. Coconuts as he sat upon his mistress's hand. "You're goin' a little crackers over that banana peel!"
"Now is not the time to be so coconuts, Mr. C.!" Luan scolded.
Upon their arrival into the auditorium, Shannon and Ruby were quick to take notice of just how frantic some of their fellow thespians seemed to have been – then again, just about every student seemed to have been having such a day throughout.
"Boy, everybody seems, like, really keyed up today, don't they?" Ruby remarked.
"It has been a weird day," agreed Shannon. "Especially that food fight during lunch."
"Tell me about it," said Ruby. "I, like, almost got beaned in the head with a giant dill pickle!"
As if the aforementioned mess in the cafeteria from earlier was not the only food-related mishap that would have taken place that day, Ruby's eyes happened to fall upon the discarded skin of a yellow tropical fruit that laid on the floor of the stage… and that her best friend was just about to step onto it.
"Shannon, look out!" Ruby yelped.
"What? What is it?" Shannon freaked out.
Alas, it was too little too late. Shannon's foot made contact with the slippery banana peel and she started to go down. Ruby reached out and grabbed Shannon by her wrist in an attempt to prevent her from making contact with the floor, but she was already going down with such velocity that the only thing it had accomplished was Shannon taking Ruby down with her, and as Shannon landed flat on her back, Ruby landed right on top of her. The two were left disoriented for a brief moment until they both began to check on the current condition of the other…
"Are you alright?" They asked each other at the same time.
"Yeah, I'm fine. You?" They also asked each other at the same time.
Luckily, no harm seemed to have befallen either of them… but, neither of them could pick themselves up just yet. Much like the awe-inspiring moment that Ruby had experienced with Shannon on that cold, cloudy, late-December day when they began to rebuild their friendship, as Shannon looked up at Ruby above her, she possessed something of a glowing aura around her head, courtesy of a stage light that shone right down onto her; it was truly a mesmerizing sight.
Wow… Ruby really is beautiful…
Just the same, as Ruby looked down upon Shannon's bespectacled and freckled face beneath her, similar ideas had also entered her mind.
O-M-G… Shannon really is, like, freakin' adorable…
Awkward smiles quivered across both of their faces while Shannon began to slowly wrap her arms around Ruby's petite waist without giving any thought to what she was doing. As the two of them remained down on the floor and lost themselves in their gazes into the other's eyes, Luan finally discovered her missing banana peel on the stage floor as she scooped it up into the hand that was not presently occupied by the little wooden chap in the light blue suit.
"Oh, goody! You guys found it! Thanks!" She expressed her gratitude to her two friends who happened to have fallen victim to this misfortune – in more ways than one.
When she and her companion noticed that the two girls laid atop one another on the stage floor with goofy grins on their faces, she could not help but to use him to inject some amusing commentary over this scene before them.
"Hey, you two wanna get a dressing room?" Mr. Coconuts quipped.
Hearing this had snapped the two girls out of their little trance as they saw that not only did Luan stand before them with Mr. Coconuts, but by now, they were on the receiving end of rather awkward stares from just about every other thespian in the house – some of them appeared to even have some rather cheeky and naughty grins on their faces. Ruby and Shannon exchanged an awkward and confused look of their own before it had occurred to them what the reason was for these looks from some of their fellow thespians when they came to realize where Ruby's hands had landed in their little tumble: on top of Shannon's breasts.
"NYAH!" They simultaneously shrieked as they shot away from each other, red-faced and embarrassed.
Their attempt to explain this to their fellow thespians proved to not only be equally awkward, but also quite amusing.
"Okay, this is, like, totally not what it looks like…" began Ruby.
"Yeah, I slipped and started to fall…" continued Shannon.
"And I was, like, trying to save her from falling, but…"
"I ended up taking her down with me…"
"Yeah, but they broke my fall…" added Ruby, only to realize the faux pas she had let slip out as she quickly attempted to correct herself. "I mean, she broke my fall!"
"That's all that happened! Honest to God!" Shannon insisted.
"Yeah, what she said!" Ruby agreed.
The only response this seemed to elicit from the other thespians was a series of snickers, and a few brief little remarks such as, "Sure," "Yeah, right," and, "Uh-huh."
Luan pocketed her banana peel as she and her other fellow thespians went about their own business, all the while the two fallen girls had remained planted on the stage floor, both of them were still completely red-faced over their little mishap as they eyed each other.
"I'm… not sure they really believe us…" said Shannon. "Do you?"
"I dunno…" replied Ruby.
As though they were in perfect sync with one another, Ruby had begun to nervously stroke her arm at the exact same time that Shannon had begun to just as nervously stroke the back of her head – and they both did so with the same sort of rhythm and pacing… it became even more awkward with every passing second.
Finally, Ruby spoke up again…
"Sorry I grabbed your tits," she apologized, though quickly realized that was probably not the best way to word her apology, and instead said, "I mean, not that I meant to grab your tits… I mean, I didn't even know I was, like, touching them…"
"It's okay… it was an accident…" mumbled Shannon, despite the fact that she had now crossed her arms in front of her chest rather tightly out of a sense of instinctual modesty. "Wasn't it…?"
"Yeah, totally an accident…" insisted Ruby.
However, in that moment, there was one specific thought that ran through the Indian girl's mind…
So that's what they feel like…
She shook her head as she lamented over her own late-blooming body, even though it never seemed to stop others from finding her to be rather attractive… but, she had also thought that Shannon was rather attractive as well, until she began to shake her head a little more furiously.
Okay, why am I having these thoughts about Shannon?
Out of the corner of her eye, she stole another glance at Shannon, who remained planted next to her, with her arms crossed tightly before her chest, and remnants of a pinkish hue still present in her freckled cheeks. Likewise, Shannon had also stolen a glance at Ruby out of the corner of her eye, and found it fascinating that even with her darker skin tone she could blush much in the same way that somebody with fairer skin could – the rosiness in her cheeks also seemed to befit her namesake.
She really does look like a ruby… such a pretty name… everything about her is pretty…
Wait… why am I having these thoughts about Ruby?
Unless…
It was past Shannon's scheduled bedtime, but even so, with the number of thoughts that raced rapidly through her mind, a night's sleep was not about to be achieved any moment soon. She sat up in her bed within her darkened room and tried to make sense of everything that she had experienced as of late…
Do I… have a crush…? Am I… crushing… on Ruby?
How could she possibly be crushing on her best friend?
Ruby's such a wonderful person… and nobody's ever gone so far out of their way to be friends with me… well, except when Luan started pranking me back in sixth grade, but that's a whole different matter… Ruby's a whole different matter… nobody's ever made me feel the way Ruby does… I feel so happy hanging out with her… like I just like being with her… I don't think I've ever felt this happy hanging out with someone before… she makes me feel so… wanted and appreciated…
Is this what love feels like?
She reached over to grab her cell phone that she had charging on her night table, on which she proceeded to scroll through her Instacram account… specifically, posts that she was tagged in, a majority of which were posted by Ruby. Even in certain selfies where it was clear that the two of them were just being silly and mugging the camera, they appeared to be so happy together. She essentially ignored her own bespectacled and freckled face in most of these selfies, and instead, concentrated on the exotic beauty who was Ruby Patel; the more she looked, the more she could feel a flutter in her heart, and pretty soon, she clutched her phone to her chest, eased back onto her pillow, and looked to the ceiling above her…
I do… I do love Ruby…
She could not deny it at this point; what else could this feeling be that nobody else in the world other than Ruby had stirred within her, but love? She sank deeper and deeper into her bed as thoughts of the love she now realized she possessed for her best friend danced about in her head… it was then that she thought the unthinkable...
Could we be more than just friends?
She could not even believe that such a question had occurred to her, and yet, the very idea of she and Ruby being more than just friends seemed rather appealing to her... that is until another matter had lured her back down to reality...
Wait... would Ruby even go for that? I mean, I know Ruby's dated guys before... but... would she date a girl?
Of course, she had no way of knowing if Ruby could or would possibly swing that way, let alone if she would be interested in being more than just friends, unless she came out and asked her... but that seemed like such a big risk that really made Shannon question whether or not she should...
If I said anything, it could affect our friendship, and not in a good way... what if she won't even want to hang out with me anymore because of it? Especially after we just became friends again...
Shannon's mind and heart had hit the mental and emotional battlefield over the matter at hand...
Should I tell her or not? Ugh! Why does love always have to be so complicated?! I wish I knew what to do… I wish I could talk to somebody about this… I need advice…
Indeed, Shannon wished she could talk to somebody and get their advice on her newfound struggle of balancing a sustained friendship with somebody she now also possessed a crush on versus the risk of telling her her true feelings - especially not knowing if said friend would swing that way… but, there really was nobody she could talk to. It wasn't that she did not trust anybody else, such as other friends, like Luan or Benny… one would believe that they would be ideal friends she could talk to about her struggle, since they, too, were once best friends, and have since become something so much more… But, one thing she knew about Luan was that she cannot keep a secret when it involves other people, even if it pertained to her own family – anything that should be kept confidential is bound to slip out of that metal mouth of hers. As for Benny, well, even Shannon was painfully aware of her own people's inability to take in a nice piece of juicy gossip and keep it to themselves – especially if they were rabbis who would violate the confidentiality of confession on their own public access cable show.
As if Shannon was not the only one who was presently faced with such a plight, Ruby also found herself in a similar situation. Just the same, it was past her scheduled bedtime, but sleep was the farthest thing from her mind, as she, too, sat up in her bed, with the emission from her phone's screen being among the only source of light in her otherwise darkened bedroom; she, likewise, scrolled through her camera roll to specifically look at the various selfies she had taken with Shannon in weeks and months past, and was struck with certain thoughts that ran through her mind…
Shannon is seriously, like, the cutest thing on the face of the planet… how have I never noticed this before? Why am I, like, just now noticing this? Why am I, like, having these weird feelings now? I've, like, never had feelings like these before… it's almost like… I like-like Shannon…
No, that can't be. I never even felt like this around Spencer… plus, Shannon's a girl... I never had a crush on a girl before… why does it feel so right, though?
Ruby mentally replayed their tumble to the stage floor from earlier that afternoon, and how she had inadvertently grabbed onto Shannon's breasts to break her fall. Was it really an accident? Even she had to question the validity of such, because it was something she could not stop thinking about as she found herself admiring Shannon's assets in their selfies; she almost felt a twinge of envy to think that she and Shannon were the same age, and yet she herself still possessed something of an under-developed body compared to the more defined shape and structure that her friend possessed.
Why am I looking at Shannon's body like this?
Why do I… feel like… I wanna… hold her…
It was then that Ruby had come to realize something that she had not given much thought to when it had occurred… while they were on the floor in the auditorium earlier, she could have sworn that she felt Shannon wrap her arms around her, and rather slowly at that… like a crush would.
Could… Shannon, like… like-like me, too?
No… she was just foolin' around. Not foolin' around foolin' around; like, just messin' with me foolin' around…
Still, Ruby was uncertain… she thought even further back to just before school had dismissed for winter break a few weeks back, when she and Shannon had reconciled their friendship… they hugged each other… but, it seemed like it was more than just a hug… she felt Shannon rub her back in such a slow and tender manner, almost like she was loving caressing her.
Ugh, get a grip, Rubes! Your brain's, like, going into Funky Town! You're totally overthinking stuff… Shannon's your bestie, that's all… it's, like, totally normal to feel super close to your bestie, right? Shans even said so herself, we're just super close cause we're besties…
Besides, Shannon's into... wait... what is Shannon into, anyway? She's never, like, talked about boys and stuff before...
In as much as Ruby tried to reassure herself that her mind had just run away with her, and that she and Shannon were just friends and nothing more, she still could not help but consider a certain possibility...
I… kinda still wonder what it'd be like if we were more than just friends…
That relatively new awkwardness had proceeded into the new week when school was back in session the following Monday. As the day was getting started, Shannon had already gotten from her locker the text books and notebooks that were necessary for her ensuing classes that were on the upper floor and on the opposite side of the building, but as she pressed down the hall, she spotted Ruby at her locker as she also grabbed her necessary text books and notebooks for her ensuing classes. She stopped in her tracks for a moment to admire the Indian girl across the hall from her, who happened to spot the Jewish girl after she shut her locker and turned around. Unlike their typical morning locker routines of engaging in brief and idle chit-chat, the two just stood silently and admired one another from afar, but before either of them knew it, Shannon found herself being shoved along by other students who made their way down the corridor in a hurry to get to their own classes, and this girl had essentially held up traffic; the smile on Ruby's face disappeared as she watched Shannon disappear into a sea of other students who maneuvered the crowded hall. No longer the somewhat cool girl she once was after that very public blowup of hers, not too many other kids in school were interested in talking to or hanging out with Ruby anymore, so what little time she could spend with Shannon meant a lot to her… at least there was still lunch to look forward to.
Even so, lunch became just as awkward. Shannon had already taken a seat at a table, and this time, she brought a paper bag lunch with her instead of trying to ingest that poison the lunch ladies served. Shortly thereafter, Ruby was the next to take a seat at the table with her tray of food after she had made it through the lunch line; the seat right next to Shannon, as she always took.
"Hey," Ruby greeted Shannon.
"Hey," Shannon returned the greeting.
That was it. Ordinarily, these two girls would talk among themselves during their entire lunch period, and about a wide array of topics, from their current class studies, to the shows or movies they had watched the night before, to even further enlightening one another about their respective cultures. Today was a different story… Shannon and Ruby were just awkwardly silent; both of them had quite a lot on their minds to even really say much of anything, let alone eat much of their lunch. Long after Luan and Lyberti had eventually joined them at their table, they, too, took notice of this when they came to realize that neither of the girls had joined in any of their conversations – they both seemed rather preoccupied today… and, curiously enough, neither of them could stop staring at each other, either.
Finally, Luan spoke up, "So, what's going on between you two?"
The two of them then turned to their ponytailed friend with a rather indescribable look across their faces; to them, that seemed like quite an odd, random, and out-of-nowhere question.
"What do you mean by that?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, what do you mean by that?" Shannon also asked.
Ruby found that to be an even odder question coming from Shannon as she turned to her and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
That took Shannon aback a little, which caused her to quickly turn her head away in embarrassment; needless to say, their behavior was just so bizarre and unusual, as though neither of them were quite themselves today.
"You okay?" Lyberti asked them while she furrowed her brow.
"Yeah! Fine! Never better!" Shannon insisted as she finally took a bite out of her turkey sandwich.
"You guys seem like you got a lot on your minds today…" Luan pointed out.
"Yeah, I just… can't stop thinking… about…" Ruby tried to think of something – anything to say, until finally, a school assignment that she was not really looking forward to had crossed her mind. "Those frogs we're gonna have to, like, dissect in biology this week…"
"Ick!" Luan and Lyberti groaned in unison.
"My little sister, Lana, loves frogs," pointed out Luan. "I'd hate to think how she'd handle dissecting one when she's in high school."
Wanting to change the subject, Shannon decided to offer up a concern of her own: "And we got the results of last week's algebra test today… I got a 'C'-minus…"
"Well, you beat me…" muttered Lyberti, who did not do so well on that same test, either.
Luan tried to lighten the mood a little as she pointed out, "Well, at least there's Friday to look forward to!"
"Totally," agreed Ruby. "Best day of the week, am I right?"
"It's the one day of the week I look forward to the most," agreed Shannon.
"And this Friday's going to be extra special," said Luan with a sense of excitement in her voice.
"You know something we don't?" Ruby asked.
"Only if you don't know this Friday is Valentine's Day!" Luan exclaimed.
That certainly would account for all of the hearts and other similar decorations that appeared throughout the school. Lyberti seemed to have a pretty good idea as to why Luan seemed particularly excited about this…
"Oh, yeah; this'll be yours and Benny's first Valentine's Day as a couple, won't it?" She asked of Luan and her boyfriend, who evidently was absent that day, and thus, unable to engage in the conversation.
"Yeah," nodded Luan, enthusiastically. "Suddenly, Valentine's Day has taken on a whole new feeling!"
"Are you guys gonna celebrate in a big way?" Lyberti prodded.
"Well, I'm not sure," said a somewhat bashful Luan. "I mean, it is still a school day, but we have been trying to find a nice weekend to schedule our official first date…"
To listen to Luan blather on about she and Benny celebrating Valentine's Day, Ruby's mood suddenly dropped… just the very thought of this upcoming holiday had reminded her of her big break-up with Spencer weeks ago, and how she otherwise had no reason to celebrate, let alone acknowledge such a holiday now. Shannon, however, had a completely different mindset: she got to thinking that this could very well provide her with an opportunity to maybe open up to Ruby about how she really felt about her; after all, what better time to open up your heart to somebody than on the holiday of hearts?
Just tell her; she's your best friend, she'll understand… but, if she doesn't, it could be the end of our friendship…
In as much dread that all of this uncertainty had brought Shannon, not to mention the rational fear of possibly jeopardizing a friendship that was already incredibly special to her, she came to realize that she would otherwise have no peace of mind until she finally said something to Ruby, once and for all; with her mind made up, she decided that come Friday, she would make the most daring move she had ever made in her life: ask her best friend to be her Valentine… it may lead to something life-altering.
The Valentine spirit was certainly present in theater club that Friday afternoon. Of course, it was to be expected that Amy and Rex had cranked their mushy public displays of affection up to eleven that day, but this was also the most playful that anybody had ever seen Benny and Luan behave towards each other… and even Lyberti and Leo seemed a little friendlier than usual with each other. Others merely happily helped themselves to some of the refreshments provided by Dairy Land catering, including milkshakes and heart-shaped candied apples – even single people could find a reason to celebrate Valentine's Day.
As she made her way across the idle stage, Shannon swallowed a lump in her throat; she produced a red, heart-shaped paper token with Ruby's name written on it, folded it in half, and hid it behind her back… she could not believe she was about to ask her best friend to be her Valentine. This was it, there would be no turning back from this, and no matter what the outcome, it would surely change the entire course of their friendship forever... she just hoped that, regardless of her response, Ruby would at least be willing to listen and understand.
While most of the other thespians enjoyed the party, a sullen Ruby sat off to the side by herself, and looked rather sour as she scrolled through her social media feeds; so lost was she in her misery that she did not even see her blushing bestie approach her.
"Hey, Ruby…" said Shannon; she hoped she wouldn't notice how pink her freckled cheeks were.
"Hey…" mumbled Ruby without breaking away from her phone.
"I was… wondering… if… I could… ask you something…" said Shannon as she tried to keep her trembling voice from breaking up.
"What?" Ruby asked while still glued to her phone.
"Well, you see…" began Shannon until she realized something was off about her friend. "Are… you okay, Rubes?"
Ruby scoffed, "Today is, like, not a good day, Shans…"
"What's the matter?" Asked a concerned Shannon.
"All this Valentine's junk…" said Ruby. She finally rested her phone atop her lap and rolled her eyes as she continued, "Now I realize how lonely people think this day, like, totally sucks, because it does..."
"Oh… yeah… I… see what you mean…" mumbled Shannon.
"This day has done nothing but remind me of how I was, like, nothing but a little trophy for Mr. Macho Man Spencer…" admitted Ruby. "I swear, if I have to look at a bunch of red hearts much longer, I am totally gonna puke…"
Shannon felt a sharp sting with that remark; this had very much discouraged her from the big plan she had made for today to see if her friendship with Ruby could possibly grow into something more.
Ruby sighed, "Sorry, Shans, I'm just in a bad mood today. What did you wanna ask me?"
The Indian girl's previous comment had thrown a wrench into Shannon's plan, though upon hearing her address her again, the bespectacled brunette shook her head and responded with a, "Huh?"
"You said you wanted to ask me something…" Ruby pointed out.
"Oh… yeah… you know what?" Shannon responded. "Never mind… it's not important, anyway… I'll just give you some space…"
Ruby nodded before she returned to her phone, "'Kay. Thanks."
Feeling dejected, Shannon turned and walked away. Although she did not know entirely what to expect as far as the outcome of her plan, this was something that she had not expected whatsoever – even if she wasn't able to follow through with said plan, admittedly, she did feel a trifle hurt that she did not get to ask Ruby to be her Valentine. As she continued her trek across the stage, she thought she had slipped the Valentine back into her skirt pocket, but the fold had actually gotten caught on the edge, which prevented it from being slipped in completely; instead, it dangled freely, and the more her hip shifted as she walked, the more it worked its way out of her pocket and eventually fell to the floor below.
For the rest of the day's club meeting, Shannon pretty much kept to herself on another side of the stage, where she drowned her sorrows in one milkshake after another, while she watched some of her other friends enjoy their Valentine's party. As long as she had known both Luan and Benny, never before had she seen the two of them so lovely-dovey with each other – even when they played Romeo and Juliet. She was happy for them, to be sure, but in the moment, she also felt just a little sorry for herself that she could not be sharing in such a moment like this with Ruby on this day of all days. She had not been rejected, since she had not technically asked Ruby, but she may as well have felt the hurt of rejection; a single tear emerged from her eye and rolled down her freckled cheek.
After the drama club had adjourned, a rather immense cleanup process was underway to clear the stage from the day's party. As one particular thespian swept up the stage floor, they came across the folded paper heart and had intended to discard it into the trash under the belief that it must have found its way down to the floor after peeling off of a wall or such where it was probably a piece of décor – that is, until Ruby's name on the outside had caught their eye, and upon further inspection, a note written on the inside revealed something even more interesting.
"Brave the Last Dance" was obviously season four's Valentine's Day episode, however, that episode clearly does not take place during winter when Valentine's Day falls, so I can only assume that Royal Woods had an incredibly early spring that year... isn't climate change a bitch? This chapter would also have to take place before "A Pimple Plan," since Luan mentioned that she and Benny have yet to schedule their first official date, and that episode took place during the month of March.
Wait a minute... you don't care about any of this! There's human drama unfolding here!
Our awkward levels and fluff levels are not only through the roof in this chapter, they will probably achieve orbit in our following chapter, which will pick up right where this left off. Who found Shannon's Valentine to Ruby? What is this going to lead to? Is Shannon going to have to spend the night in the bathroom after all of those milkshakes? You're just going to have to wait and find out!