So much for Valentine's Day
Shannon had to suppose that it was understandable that Ruby would probably still be nursing the wounds from her breakup with Spencer, and how the occasion of a holiday dedicated to celebrating the notion of romance had probably also rubbed some salt into those wounds; it may have even been a might inconsiderate on her part to try to make such a big move with Ruby so soon after such a breakup.
Now that she had some time to rethink and reconsider things, she figured that maybe it was for the best that her plan did not work out after all… she thought she must have been meshuggeneh (crazy, if you will) to even think that asking Ruby to be her Valentine was such a good idea, let alone that their friendship could become something more; their friendship had already gone through a hiatus once before, albeit a temporary one… had this not worked, and/or Ruby felt threatened by her true feelings, it could have put their friendship through another hiatus – a potentially permanent one… Ruby meant far too much to her to take such a risk; she did not want her best friend to drop out of her life again.
Between failing to carry out her plan, the sting of heartache, and the excessive consumption of milkshakes that would not be very beneficial to one's nutrition, she had no appetite by the time dinner was ready, and after she explained only the last reason to her parents, asked to be excused. As was usual of her particular eccentricity, she decided to shut herself in her bedroom for the rest of the evening, and immerse herself into some apropos musical tracks to underscore her melancholy. After she flopped herself atop her bed and popped a pair of buds into her ears, she scrolled through the various different movie playlists on her device until she came across the particular track she searched for: a cover tune by Pete Yorn that was recorded specifically for the soundtrack of Shrek 2:
You spurn my natural emotion
you make me feel like dirt and I'm hurt
But if I start a commotion
I run the risk of losing you and that's worse
Ever fallen in love with someone
ever fallen in love, in love with someone
ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn't have fallen in love with?
I don't see much of a future
unless we find out who's to blame, what a shame
And we won't be together much longer
unless we realize that we are the same
Ever fallen in love with someone
ever fallen in love, in love with someone
ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn't have fallen in love with?
She was startled when she suddenly felt something pointed strike her on the tip of her button nose, which, upon opening her eyes, turned out to be some sort of a note that was folded into a paper airplane – it must have been sent through her window which she had opened when she had arrived home; after the stressful day she went through, she was in need of some fresh air to circulate into her room. She unfolded the paper airplane open to read the note that had been written:
You have been cordually invited to dinner tonite on top Royal Woods Hill!
- A Friend
This struck her as rather curious; she even pulled the buds from her ears, stepped over to her open window, and peered out into the complex's parking lot three stories below, but saw no sign of human life among a sea of tenants' cars and other vehicles. As she looked at the note again, there were only two things she was able to deduce: whoever wrote it had terribly illegible handwriting, and must have flunked spelling. Not only did a confused Shannon wonder who had sent her this note, but so did Ruby…
As the evening had progressed, the Indian girl had continued to wallow in a sour mood, and had likewise asked to be excused from her family dinner due to a lack of an appetite. As she, too, laid sprawled across her bed, her annoyance had been increased by scrolling through her social media feeds on her phone and seeing all of the schmaltzy Valentine's Day posts that her friends and mutuals had shared throughout the day; she could not wait for this day to be over. From outside her own bedroom window, she heard a rather frantic tapping that struck her as suspicious. What was that all about? Was somebody trying to spy on her? She stepped over to her window and quickly split her curtains apart to expose the perpetrator, only to find no person on the other side, but instead, to her surprise, that same note taped to the glass pane:
You have been cordually invited to dinner tonite on top Royal Woods Hill!
- A Friend
One local point of interest in Royal Woods was a towering hill that bore the town's namesake; the top of said hill was home to a nice little rest spot that gave visitors a sweeping view of not only the greater metropolitan area of town, but also all of the surrounding suburbs and neighboring towns. The hill was accessible via a greenway path of which visitors could reach the top either by vehicle, bicycle, or even on foot – the latter of which was certainly no walk in the woods, it was far more like a grueling hike, which made it all the more strenuous for Shannon and Ruby to reach the top after they had been invited up there by an anonymous friend. Both girls could feel their energy burning out as they scaled opposite sides of the greenway to make it to the top of the hill, where they were surprised not only discover that in the middle of the clearing where the rest spot was located, a table for two had been set up with a checkered cloth that covered the top surface, which was also adorned with a candelabra and place settings, but each other as well.
"What are you doing here?" They asked each other at the same time.
"Did you invite me up here?" They also asked each other at the same time.
"No, what are you talking about?" They continued to ask each other at the same time.
"I got this note inviting me to dinner up here…" They explained at the same time as they showed the other the anonymous note that they had received.
"Is this your idea?" Ruby asked.
Shannon feverishly shook her head, "No! Is it yours?"
Ruby also shook her head, albeit a little more calmly, "No."
"Then what's going on?" Shannon asked.
At that moment, the two suddenly heard a familiar tune being played from the thicket of woods off to their side – a tune that not only sounded rather romantic, but also noticeably Italian as well. From out of the woods emerged Lyberti, pulling behind her a cardboard gondola that bore Luan, Leo, and Benny; all of them were dressed as gondoliers and even sported huge fake mustaches on their faces – none of which even matched their hair colors. A strange sight to be sure, as Luan balanced two dishes on her hands, Leo played an accordion, and Benny strummed away on a little lute, while Lyberti channeled her inner Dean Martin…
When the moon hits your eye like a big-a pizza pie
that's amore
Lyberti circled once around to allow Luan to rest a platter which contained a pizza pie onto the table.
When the stars make you drool just-a like-a pasta e fasule
that's amore
Lyberti circled around the other side to allow Luan to rest a large bowl of pasta and bean stew onto the table as well.
Shannon and Ruby had no idea what in the world was going on here, but they wanted to find out.
"Uh, Lyberti?" Ruby spoke up.
When you walk in a dream
But you know you're not dreaming, Signore
"Lyberti?" Ruby repeated.
Lyberti pulled the gondola over to the side while Leo and Benny continued to provide her with musical accompaniment.
Scuse-a me, but you see, back in ol' Napoli
that's amoreeee
"TIME OUT!" Ruby yelled as she brought her hands together into a 'T'-shape.
That outburst had effectively brought the little musical number to an abrupt halt.
"What are you doing, Lyberti?" Ruby asked. "What is all this?"
"Don't ask me, this wasn't my idea," insisted Lyberti with a shrug.
"Then, like, whose was it?" Ruby asked.
All eyes fell upon the ponytailed girl who playfully shrugged, "What can I say? I'm just a hopeless romantic!"
"Okay, I am, like, totally confused here," said Ruby.
"Same here," said Shannon. "Whatever gave you this idea, Luan?"
"Well, this, for one thing…" explained Luan as she fished a certain folded, heart-shaped piece of red paper from her pants pocket and playfully waved it in the air.
"OY VEY GEVALT!" Shannon shrieked in Yiddish as she immediately snatched the paper out of the comedienne's hand in a panic. "Where did you get this?!"
"I found on the stage floor when we were cleaning up this afternoon," explained Luan.
It was true; Luan Loud was the thespian who had discovered the token that had managed to slip out of Shannon's skirt pocket. Since Mrs. Bernardo had Luan assist in maintenance and cleanup as a condition of her probation over her repeated disruptions of their Romeo & Juliet rehearsals, she continued to assist in the cleaning of the stage at the end of each week's session, in hopes of remaining in the good graces of the drama teacher she came to regard as her mentor. The discovery of what was written on this piece of red paper had given Luan the idea to lasso Benny, Lyberti, and Leo into arranging this setup for Shannon and Ruby.
"I can't believe this…" mumbled a panic-stricken Shannon.
"What is it, Shans?" Asked a puzzled Ruby.
"Nothing! It's nothing!" Shannon continued to panic as she feverishly crumpled up the paper in her hands.
"Aw, come on, let me see…" insisted Ruby.
"NO!" Shannon shrieked again.
"Might as well show her now that it's all out in the open," suggested Luan.
Now that it's all out in the open? Coming from the same girl who put this all out in the open? Uncharacteristic as it would have been, Shannon looked as though she wanted to strangle Luan for that.
"Come on, Shans…" Ruby continued to prod. "Let me see."
Shannon could see by now that all eyes had fallen upon her, all in anticipation of her sharing what it was that she seemed rather embarrassed about. As her freckled cheeks turned almost as red as the paper in her hand, she swallowed another lump in her throat, and hesitantly handed it to Ruby, who saw her name on the outside, and unfolded it into a heart shape to read the note that was written on the inside:
You are my true best friend
our friendship I hope will never end
Mayhap it could be something more
for you my heart does soar
A question unto you I do sign
Will you be my Valentine?
-Shannon
Now it was Ruby's cheeks that turned red when she began to realize that this heart-shaped piece of red paper was a Valentine, and that this poetic little note was a declaration of love. Slowly, she turned to look her best friend in the eye and asked, "Shannon? You… like me?"
By that point, Shannon's face was even redder than the paper Valentine. Her embarrassment and humiliation had fired on all cylinders by this setup, and all she could do was turn away from everybody; she could not bear to face any of them, especially Ruby.
"Shannon?" Ruby spoke up again. "Is this true?"
Shannon didn't respond; she couldn't respond. In the moment, she just wished that the hill beneath her would crumble and swallow her up to escape the present situation.
However, the theatrical gondoliers further offered up their encouragement in an attempt to coax her out of her comfort zone and reveal her obvious true feelings to Ruby.
"Aw, come on, Shans," cheered Luan. "You've got this, girl!"
"You can do it, Shannon," cheered Benny. "Bring on some chutzpah!"
Lyberti chose that moment to break out into song once again:
Tell her
that
you're never gonna leave her
Tell her
that
you're always gonna love her
Tell her
Tell her
Tell her
Tell her right now
"I will if we can get a little privacy!" Shannon uncharacteristically snapped at the barbershop quartet rejects in the hope that they would take the hint and leave.
With that, Lyberti grabbed the rope that she used to pull the cardboard gondola, turned tailed, and began to wheel the others away from the scene, all the while Leo and Benny curiously played the game over tune from Super Mario Bros. on their instruments. After they disappeared into the woods, Shannon finally, yet hesitantly faced Ruby once more; it almost looked as though they held a contest between them as to whose face could turn redder than the others, as it was quite an awkward moment for both of them.
"Shannon? You really… like me?" Ruby asked again.
Yet another lump became trapped in Shannon's throat that she had difficulty swallowing, but as all of this was put out in the open, it became evident to her that there was no turning back from this point; she may as well take the metaphorical plunge:
"Yes… and… I'm sorry…"
"Sorry?" Ruby asked.
"I didn't mean for it to get out like this," confessed Shannon before she began to ramble, "I had no idea the others found the Valentine I was going to give you... even though I decided not to give it to you, since you were in a bad mood, and then I realized how meshuggeneh I was to think asking you to be my Valentine was even a good idea, and maybe I should go now…"
Of course, this was no confrontation of any sort, but the moment felt like a fight or flight scenario for Shannon, and she had chosen to take flight; she just could not handle it, let alone face Ruby – if this were to be the end of their friendship, she decided it would be far less painful to make a clean break, rather than to have Ruby say to her face how disgusted she was by what a piece of filth she is.
She turned to leave, but suddenly felt her wrist being grabbed.
"Wait… you don't need to go…" said Ruby to prevent her from running away. "I mean… as long as we're here… why don't we… like… sit and talk? The others did go through all this trouble to arrange this just for us…"
Shannon took a look at Ruby, glanced over at the dinner arrangement, and then turned back to Ruby.
"You… you're not disgusted at me?" She asked.
"Why would I be disgusted at you?" Ruby asked with an awkward smile as she slowly lead her over to the table. "You know you can, like, totally talk to me about anything… come on…"
"Well… okay…" shrugged Shannon.
The two took their seats on opposite sides of the table and could not help but be awestruck over the amazing view of their town down below, with dots of light that gradually popped on and illuminated the setting even brighter than what few stars managed to twinkle their way through an overcast sky.
"You know… this actually is, like, really romantic," Said Ruby as she looked at Shannon's freckled face washed in the warm candlelit glow.
An awkward smile finally began to quiver its way across her face, as she had to agree, "Yeah… it… really is…"
They sat staring into each other's slightly enlarged eyes for a brief moment before they both coincidentally cleared their throats and began to help themselves to slices of pizza and servings of the pasta and bean stew that had been delivered to their catered affair, even though neither of them still had much an appetite to speak of, given their present circumstances; it could be said that they, instead, had a butterfly collection that fluttered loose within both of their empty tummies.
After she nibbled a little on a slice of pizza, Shannon finally spoke up again, if only to clear the air over any potential concern that the girl sitting across from her may have had.
"Ruby? I, um… I just want you to know that… at no point was I ever jealous of you and Spencer… in case that's what you're thinking…"
Ruby shook her head after a sip of the fagioli and said, "That thought never even occurred to me, like, at all…"
"I've only recently realized that I… I do… have a crush on you…" confessed Shannon as her freckled cheeks turned red all over again.
Ruby also blushed again, "Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah…" sighed Shannon. "I know this seems kinda weird… sometimes I still kinda struggle with it… Luan and Benny are the only ones who even know about it, but…"
"Wait," interrupted Ruby. "You told Luan and Benny you have a crush on me?"
Shannon shook her head, "No! I never told anyone about that…"
"Oh…" replied Ruby as she tried to take another sip of the stew.
"What I mean is…" the bespectacled brunette hesitated as she easily scooted the plate with her slice of pizza aside and ever so slightly sunk into her chair. Once again, it became a laboring challenge for her to maintain any form of eye contact with Ruby, as her own eyes darted all over the place, between the table in front of them, the clearing around them, the city below them, and the sky above them. "I… think… I'm… bisexual…"
She squinted her eyes shut; she did not know if this revelation would do anything to repulse the girl who sat across from her. While Ruby did not necessarily seem particularly traditional in her Indian heritage, Shannon was still somewhat ignorant of the Hindu faith; she did not know if their views on anything other than heterosexuality were fundamentally prohibiting, and if so, if that may have had any sort of influence on Ruby's personal views toward such people. Although Shannon herself came from a household of Judaism, she and her parents were not as Orthodox as other members of their extended family, who frowned upon couples, even heterosexual couples, so much as holding hands prior to marriage; they were a little more relaxed with their faith at home. Growing up, Shannon was always taught to love, respect, and accept other people, regardless or who and what they are. Even so, she was well aware that homophobia and even biphobia were still alive and well in the world today, which was another reason for her struggles with her sexuality, and remaining mostly quiet about it.
Still, she could not bring herself to maintain eye contact with Ruby, though if she could, she would see that Ruby did not seem the least bit phased by such a revelation.
"Oh, you are?" Ruby asked.
Shannon gradually opened her eyes and saw no signs of disgust or repulsion in Ruby's face… in fact, she looked almost inquisitive – as though she had every intention to listen and absorb more of whatever she had to say; even after so many months of knowing each other, Ruby still enjoyed peeling away more of Shannon's metaphoric layers to learn more about who she was.
"So… like… how long have you known?"
Shannon shrugged, "I've been struggling with my sexuality for like a year now… I've… never dated anyone before or anything, but… I noticed as I got older… I found myself… noticing some girls are cute like boys… maybe even cuter… I didn't know why I could possibly find both boys and girls cute, unless… I'm… bi…"
Ruby nodded understandingly.
"That's why Luan's one of the only people I've ever confided in... I know one of her sisters is bi, too, and she seems cool with it, so I figured she'd be cool with it if I am…"
Shannon entered flashback territory...
During their previous school year, and after Shannon had realized she found attraction in girls as well as boys, she had confided in one of her only friends in school – she knew that one of Luan's many sisters was bisexual, and figured that Luan would be understanding if she came out to her. Luan not only understood and accepted Shannon coming out to her, the weekend after Shannon did so, she invited her over to the Loud House, and had Luna impart some words of wisdom onto Shannon, should she feel a little uneasy or unsure about how to come to terms with recognizing her sexuality, acknowledging her attraction to both sexes, and knowing that it is perfectly normal to feel unsure, or even a little, 'Weird,' about all of this. The bisexual Jewish girl not only appreciated Luan's acceptance, and Luna's words of wisdom, but also that Benny was just as understanding and accepting of her coming out to him as well, as her fellow Jew was her other only friend in middle school, and she felt comfortable coming out to him. Luan and Benny both assured Shannon that no matter how she felt about herself or her sexuality, or who she was attracted to, she had their full support.
In hindsight; she had to suppose that the entire arrangement this evening was a way of showing of their support.
Ruby continued to nod; a lot of what Shannon had said made sense to her as she began to reconsider her own sexuality as well.
"Honestly, I don't even know what I am now… I mean, I've dated other boys before, even though Spencer's the only one I dated regularly, but, like, this is the first time I've ever had a crush on a girl, but, like, I've never really paid attention to, like, if other girls are cute, or pretty, or hot, or anything, but I've totally noticed cute guys before, and like…"
Something about what Ruby had just said suddenly peaked Shannon's curiosity, as she interrupted, "Wait… what do you mean this is the first time you've ever had a crush on a girl?"
Now, it was Ruby who was unable to maintain any eye contact with Shannon, and likewise, her eyes began to wander around their surroundings to fixate on anything but the brunette's bespectacled eyes. In a sense, letting Shannon speak first allowed Ruby an excuse to stall her own confession…
"Well… I guess you could say… the feeling is… like… totally mutual…"
Silence fell upon the two as Shannon absorbed Ruby's confession, which caused her eyes to widen even more.
"You mean… you have a crush on me, too?" She asked.
With the reddening of her face and a crooked smile, Ruby slowly nodded to confirm her query, as she further confessed, "I… like… also noticed lately that I… like… have feelings for you, too… feelings that are, like, more than just friendship… and… like… feelings I've, like, never felt for anyone before… not even Spencer…"
Silence once again fell upon the two, but gradually, they were finally able to lock eyes, of which they just sat and stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. This had to have been a most unbelievable coincidence for both of them to learn that what they assumed to be a one-sided crush actually went both ways from each of their perspectives, and once that realization began to sink in, they slowly succumbed to a fit of giggles over how their personal insecurities seemed somewhat silly in hindsight; each of their giggles sounded absolutely adorable (and adorkable) to the other, which made them share in even more laughter.
Figuratively speaking, they both felt as though a metaphoric dark cloud of uncertainty that had previously loomed over their heads had finally dissipated; in reality, that very thing coincidentally happened – on that overcast evening, the thin clouds in the sky were carried away with breezes that blew through, which revealed a bright full moon that shone down on the two. It did not go unnoticed by either of them as they looked up to face the illuminated rocky satellite that hovered above their heads in the evening sky.
"Whoa… that was totally neat…" Ruby pointed out.
"Yeah…" agreed Shannon. "Almost like that happened on cue…"
The two fell into a fit of giggles once again; theater clearly was in the blood of both of them, and such as remark seemed amusingly accurate… as did another remark that was previously made by another.
"O-M-G," gasped Ruby. "I just realized something…"
"What?" Shannon asked.
"Luan was right…" continued Ruby. "We're totally, like, lovebirds…"
Shannon also gasped upon the realization that their dorky friend with the weird sense of humor was actually correct in what was intended to be nothing more than a passing remark made purely out of jocularity. Again, this caused the two lovebirds to succumb to yet another fit of giggles – so much so that they could both feel tears begin to spill from their eyes; Shannon removed her large glasses from her face to prevent any of those tears from splashing onto the lenses while she used her yellow Montague scarf to wipe them away from her eyes… a sight that Ruby found quite fascinating.
"Oh… wow…" said Ruby between giggles.
"What?" Shannon asked as she wiped away another tear.
"You're still so totally cute even without glasses!" Ruby gushed in sincerity.
Shannon's eyes widened even more; that was the first time she had ever heard such a compliment from anybody, and it nearly stunned her.
"You… think I'm cute?"
Ruby nodded. Shannon had no idea how to respond to such a remark; in addition to her freckled cheeks firing up in redness all over again, she instinctively demurred at Ruby's compliment, as though to brush it off as hearsay, but Indian girl would have none of it.
"I'm serious, Shans," she insisted. "You're totally cute as a button…"
Shannon continued to blush as she slipped her glasses back onto her face; the concern that she had over her tears splashing into her lenses disappeared when a new problem presented itself in the form of her lenses now fogging up from how warm her face had become on this rather nippy evening. Unable to squeeze any audible sound from her tightened throat, the only way she could respond was simply to mouth the word, "Thanks."
This may not have been the greatest day that either of them had, but in stark contrast, this, for certain, turned into an evening to remember for both of them; while Shannon was initially humiliated that their theater friends had orchestrated this whole setup as a way of bringing the two of them together, she was now very much appreciative of the trouble they went through, considering the outcome that it resulted in.
"I'm going to have to remember to thank the others for this…" she said.
"So… does this count as, like, our first date, then?" Ruby asked.
First date.
Those words stunned Shannon in a manner that felt like she had just gotten hit by a ton of bricks. Regardless of the intentions of this arrangement, the obvious atmosphere that provided the evening with its romantic aura, and even having just spent the last several minutes opening up to each other about their feelings for one another, the idea that this could possibly be considered as an actual date had totally escaped her. For Ruby to even propose such a question made her all the more nervous.
"I… I… I-I-I-I-I-I suppose… I mean… if… if… if we're… we're…" she stammered.
Ruby smiled again, "I'm game if you are… I guess… like… who better to go out with than your best friend, am I right?"
Shannon slowly started to smile again as well as she nodded, "You know… I once heard it said that true love starts as friendship…"
"Do you believe that?" Ruby asked.
Shannon shrugged, "I don't know… this… all of this is kind of new to me…"
Ruby reached for and grabbed the glass of fruit punch that sat on the table next to her dishware and raised it toward Shannon to propose a toast:
"Here's to you… girlfriend…"
Shannon didn't know if her pale face could handle much more blushing that evening – she began to feel as though she was sunburned by this point with how flushed her cheeks were, but she likewise took hold of her glass of punch and clinked it with Ruby's; she responded with another specific, yet apropos Hebrew term: "L'Chaim."
They each took a sip of punch before they finally resumed eating the rather delightful dinner that had been prepared for them, now that their appetites had returned in full force – as neither of them had eaten a solid meal since lunch earlier that afternoon, they now felt rather ravenous.
"Say, this food's really tasty!" Shannon exclaimed as she decided to taste some pasta fagioli.
"I know, right?" Ruby agreed while she helped herself to a slice of pizza; it was quite preferable over the more culturally traditional food she was accustomed to consuming in her household. "Indian food can be totally unforgiving."
"Dang, this is so delicious!" Shannon exclaimed ecstatically again.
"My dad made it just for the occasion!" A squeaky-sounding voice called to them from out in the woods.
"LUAN!" A number of voices echoed into the night.
By the time both girls had returned home for the evening, both of them felt as though they were walking on sunshine with a song in their hearts… to think that the very best friend that each of them had been crushing on had also been crushing on her all along – it was very much like a dream come true; things simply could not have worked out any better.
Although Shannon was never much of a romantic, after she had tucked herself into bed for the night and began to slip into slumber, the young cinephile began to mentally live out just about every cheesy romance movie cliché imaginable: she experienced visions of she and Ruby sitting down to a candlelit dinner in a fancy restaurant, skydiving from an airplane, pedaling their way through the park on a tandem, participating in various games at a county fair where she won so many prizes for Ruby, striking silly-yet-lovey-dovey poses inside a photo booth, walking into the sunset along the beach, frolicking through a field of flowers, being rowed downstream in a gondola on a moonlit night, sitting in a darkened movie theater sharing a large bucket of popcorn and sipping a soda through two straws, among many others. Likewise, after Ruby had gone to bed for the night, she, too, found herself experiencing similar fantasies in her subconscious; as she snuggled a rather large throw pillow close to her, she imagined it being Shannon who was in her arms whilst she continually caressed said throw pillow so tenderly and lovingly. What soon followed was, perhaps, the most fabulous night's sleep either of them had had in such a long time.
Out of the entirety of what has grown into this monster of a story, this chapter was my personal favorite to write, and, actually, was one of the first ones to be written during the development stage (again, my non-linear writing process). I have spent more time on this chapter in terms of drafting, writing, rewriting, revising, editing, and tweaking than any other chapter in the story... and that was even before I put the pressure on Albertson to strip this thing bald with a fine-toothed comb before we published it!
If you have been following my Loud House fanfiction for a while, I have suggested the possibility of Shannon being bisexual before... however, that was just an excuse to establish that my theater club OC, Juney, had admirers of both sexes, and even long before I ever had an inkling of any Sharuby shipping potential. (Also, before the question rises again, no, Juney will not appear in this story, as she would serve no purpose, and I generally try to avoid (over)using OC's in fanfiction as much as possible).
Just to avoid making things too contrived, to contrast Shannon being sure of her sexuality, it felt crucial to me to have Ruby less sure of hers, since, as she had confessed to Shannon, she never had a crush on a girl, let alone felt attraction to girls, until her. Albertson and I even have differing opinions on what Ruby's actual orientation could be: his is that, given her circumstances, she could be heteroflexible; that could very well be, though I would theorize that she could even possibly be demisexual. The only certainty about Ruby's sexuality is the uncertainty... is it even that important, anyway? She loves Shannon, and that's all that matters to her.
And, yes; in as much as I try not to repeat myself, Royal Woods Hill is, indeed, the exact same location which Clyde brought Chloe to for their first date in Kiss and Tell... hey, it worked well once before!
Lastly, I haven't done either of such in quite a long time, but if you were to visit my updated FFN profile page, I have a new poll you can vote in. Also, if you were to visit my Twitter profile (username: saving_here), I have also created an illustration for this chapter as a visual accompaniment.