*Chapter 89*
After the seemingly endless Academy day, Penny, Oliver and Tessa moseyed onto Sugar Rush to drop off their school garb and gear, and get dressed into proper EZ Living attire. Tessa felt a knot gather in her stomach; she knew the group would meet Zed and Lickity over at EZ Living, for the tournament, though for a few passing moments that came and went, she felt as if she didn't totally want to be in his presence. She wondered just why he would accept the privilege to host prom, and not mention it to her, or anyone for that matter. A small part of her wanted to be hopeful in the fact that maybe he wanted to surprise her, though she tried her hardest not to get her hopes up. She knew they'd probably eventually agree to go with each other, though from this standpoint, and with how standoffish he was acting before Academy, she figured a good game of cat and mouse was in order; she knew she was the Queen at stubbornness, being unattainable. She smirked to herself, with her new task, and strapped herself in the hottest bikini she had.
After twenty minutes of the long walk to Sugar Rush's exit, as well as the train ride to EZ Living's port, Tessa and her family finally graced the single outlet station. Ralph, Rancis, Tammy, Emery and Calhoun had all joined the clan; Taffyta and Vanellope were already down at the courts, preparing for the tournament, like every year. Everyone excitedly chattered amongst themselves, though as if it were labelled as Penny's top job, she looked after her cousin's tender feelings, though Penny could tell that Tessa was easily harboring them past an aggressive brick wall of an exterior. Penny slyly eyed her and let the gang slowly mosey ahead of the two. She tenderly gripped Tessa's lower arm and caught her silent attention.
"What's on your mind?" Penny wondered; she knew keeping Zed's prom secret was going to be difficult, though she knew she'd have to pull through.
"Zed," Tessa scoffed in an annoyed, quiet tone as she glared ahead; EZ Living's large outlet was littered with people, beach goers and tournament fans alike.
"That much is clear," Penny chuckled as she crossed her arms and looked Tessa over in a fit of mild confusion; Tessa was strapped in her black bikini, a tight, grey spaghetti strap and a pair of hot blue surf shorts that hugged her figure. Penny beamed a curious smile, "Are those Zed's board shorts?"
"If I said no, would you believe me?" Tessa laughed softly as she cocked an eyebrow and shot Penny a mysterious smirk; Penny raised her eyebrows.
"Not totally, no," Penny chuckled, "Why are you so upset? Shouldn't you be thrilled? Prom is going to be held in Zed's game!"
"I'd be thrilled if Zed told me first," Tessa argued as their chattering group pushed through Dead Zed's wires; they could practically smell the salt water from the entrance, "Surely the Academy approached him with the idea days ago!"
"Maybe he wants to surprise you," Penny gently shrugged, "Orrr... Maybe prom just isn't his thing?"
"What, and the Academy ball is?" Tessa argued as her hard exterior remained just that.
"I don't know, Tess, why are you getting so bent out of shape?" Penny gave her an apologetic chuckle, "Just ask him! Be excited! He'll probably ask you to prom right then and there!"
"No, I'm not going to ask him," Tessa shook her head in gentle annoyance, "I'm going to let him come to me. If he wants to go to prom with me, or fill me in on all the details, then he can."
"Gunna sit back and wait? Seems to be your most used strategy," Penny wondered with a sly smile, in which Tessa gave back to her.
"Bound to work, in all aspects," Tessa said with sharp wit and a daring, sly tone.
"What do you mean?" Penny wondered in girly curiosity, "You hoping to drive him nuts?"
"Yeah, maybe then he'll get over his shyness and jump on me already," Tessa blurted with a laugh that lead to suggest she was exaggerating, though Penny ogled her with a wide, smiling gape.
"Well, y'know what my mom always says," Penny started as the group slowly began to push into EZ Living's glorious, welcoming atmosphere, "The volleyball tournament always brings good luck."
"What? Good luck? Why?" Tessa wondered as her gaze finally softened, though she felt disappointment hit her once Penny shrugged in confusion.
"I don't know, I just know she likes to tease Aunt Vanellope about it," Penny said in a tone full of innocent wonder, "I guess each year has brought either one of them luck, or something. Maybe ask your mom about it. I'm sure she knows."
"That's weird," Tessa fingered her lip and looked forward, though she felt her heart catch in her throat as she finally spot Zed and Lickity hanging near a small stand, just beyond EZ Living's entrance. She raised her eyebrows in nervous surprise and felt herself switch gears.
"Down, girl," Penny urged deeply, and in a sarcastic tone, which cued Tessa to give her an annoyed, incredulous smile.
"What? Nothing but a little fun and games," Tessa urged, "So, a girl can't enjoy a good chase once in awhile?"
"By a daring, bold character yeah, maybe," Penny laughed and gestured to Zed, who was beyond earshot, "This is Zed we're talking about. He's going to be so sad!"
"I know he has a daring side," Tessa muttered, though Penny furrowed her eyebrows in girly, growing shock.
"And you found this out how?" Penny inquired as she motioned her hands, as if to express for Tessa to keep going.
"Oh, y'know, a good 'ol competitive game of tic-tac-toe," Tessa chirped in sharp sarcasm, though she slumped her shoulders and gave Penny a dull stare, "How do yah think?"
"Alright alright, so y'make out, big deal," Penny argued, though Tessa side eyed her, as if to express she could see right through her. Penny giggled an annoyed breath and gripped Tessa's upper arm, "Oh c'mon, y'know it's code! You have to kiss and tell."
"Well, it's actually not as grand as you might think," Tessa giggled as she rubbed her forehead, as if to express she could feel a headache coming on, "Lickity interrupted us because of the thunder going on outside."
"Thunder? Sugar Rush hasn't had any storms," Penny urged in confusion, though she let her facial expression slope to genuine knowing, "Ohhh that one night you stayed at Zed's...! So what is it then, he has grabby hands? Tells you what's up? Pulls your hair?"
"Pulls my hair!" Tessa hissed with a hard laugh as her eyes bulged. She gave Penny a wild, incredulous look, "Not quite that far yet, Penny, for User's sake, what kind of ideas are in YOUR head!"
"Well, I don't know!" Penny shrieked as the two girls were lost in amused laughter, "It's the quiet ones who always become a wild card when no one else is around! That final swap is going to be one hell of a light show!"
"What if THAT doesn't even happen?" Tessa's voice grew quiet as the front half of their group began to greet Zed and Lickity; Tessa suddenly began to feel vulnerable and, as much as she hated to feel it, a twinge of sadness crawled over her skin.
"What?" Penny hissed with a calm, earnest smile. Her blonde hair flicked about as she wrinkled her nose and shook her head; her sunkissed cheeks smiled at Tessa, her blue eyes held to Tessa's in a whirl of incredulous delight, as if Tessa was merely speaking another language, "Why would you even suggest that? Sure, not every relationship unfolds far enough to get to a swap, but... C'mon. It's you and Zed!"
"I have a headache," Tessa complained through an upset facial expression as she slumped her shoulders, though she flinched and peered over to her family as they were lively with laughter and chatter, towards Zed and Lickity. She raised her eyebrows in kind surprise and fixed her whole attention to him for a few moments, though Penny softly nudged her.
"C'mon, now," Penny chuckled as she slowly pushed past Tessa, "Y'really think Zed would leave you hanging for eternity? He's a shy guy, sure, but... Good things come to those who wait."
"Yeah," Tessa breathed in an unsure voice, though she slumped her shoulders and hung a few feet away from their small gathering, that Penny lightly joined.
Tessa hugged her arms to her chest and felt a twinge of nervousness sweep over her code, as if this forbidden ember of hers and Zed's was bound to come crashing down on them, an overflowing, exploding light display of passion she was certain all of Arcade would have a front row seat to. She inhaled a shaky breath and looked on; Zed's barely lanky, yet charmingly masculine figure looked relaxed and poised, he was dressed in his comfortable black t-shirt and white surf shorts, with the proper Dead Zed arrow logo. She cocked an eyebrow in girly delight and felt a haze come over her as him and her father happily chatted, with Rancis, Oliver and Tammy eagerly joining the conversation. Tessa felt lost in their scene of delightful nostalgia, though she felt her heart jump once she could feel Lickity's stare on her. The second Lickity exhaled a proper grumble of a hello, and began to bound over to her, she grew even more flustered. She tried to hide her charming, innocent nervousness with a wide smile of anticipation as Lickity largely pushed around Penny and Rancis to get to Tessa.
Tessa beamed a wider smile and knew she couldn't keep a hard exterior around her dragon companion. She jolted as Lickity nudged her snout into Tessa's center and grumbled a few happy, cute noises of a greeting. Tessa held Lickity's cheeks and pushed a few hard smooches into the top of Lickity's snout, though she giggled and slowly stood, all while her hand ruffled the fur atop Lickity's head. Tessa's hair softly slid over her shoulder as she bent over to tend to Lickity, though she looked up to try and fix her nervous gaze on Zed, yet again. She felt her heart drop as the two caught eyes amidst the gentle, sweet chaos of group chatter. As if their line of sight was only barely parted through their crowd of family, Tessa slowly stood and kept Lickity close, though her sloped, knowing facial expression kept glued to Zed's. His daring, yet sensitive eyes held to hers in adoring delight, though she could tell this was merely the beginning of their largest game of cat and mouse yet.
As the hour went on, the group began to mosey on over to the arena, where the volleyball tournament were to be held. EZ Living's atmosphere was hot and humid, though it seemed to begin to draw in a cool breeze, as if to convey the night time ocean air was bound to be chilly. With green palm trees, sprawling white sands, and lazy, cawing gulls galore, the beach was crowded with relaxed, albeit excited life. Tessa tried her hardest to put on a happy face, for her peers, and especially Zed, though she found it difficult to rip her heart from her sleeve; oh how badly she wished she could put on a believable mask. She lightly sunk into the background of any conversation that took place, and she tried her hardest not to seem to obvious in trying to get Lickity to walk in between her and Zed. She knew the undersides of her skin cursed her for putting on a selfish act of 'avoid your problems', though somehow she hoped Zed caught on to her spark of upset confusion; the fact that she had to find out the obvious location of prom, through someone that wasn't the source, was what mildly put her off.
The seven individuals finally filed into the crowded arena, though they hung back for a few moments while Tessa had to practically bribe the workers to let Lickity in. After much debate, she finally sunk into the back of the group, yet again, as they continued onward. Because of her mom's and aunt's winning streak, they were lucky enough to get floor seats for the big game; housed in a comfortable pit only meant for the competitors and only the spectators of their choosing. Their reserved seating area, which was comfortably tucked on the far end of their side of the volleyball court, had the perfect, front row view of the game, as well as a worker or two for accommodations between time-outs. As the seven finally pushed into their comfortable, shaded booth, lined with enough seats, Tessa finally felt her heart smile as she saw her mother and aunt at the edge of the seating area, they stood close to each other and assessed the court; they calmly chatted with each other, likely about certain plays and strategies.
"Alright, so, who decides where the trophy goes this year?" Ralph barked with a wide smile as Vanellope and Taffyta quickly averted their attention to their approaching family; everyone easily laughed at Ralph's notion.
"If we even win this year," Vanellope urged with an annoyed chuckle as the two girls unraveled from their serious topic and began to step to meet their family across the large, sprawling shade.
"Nonsense," Rancis lazily waved his hand, though him and Ralph idly glanced across the far end of the court, to the opposing team's pit; it was shaded in a hull of the dark side of the court, where the sun wasn't hitting it. Rancis furrowed his eyebrows and nervously peered his attention back to Vanellope and Taffyta, "...You guys competing against Sonic and Tails again?"
"Don't we wish, playing against those two was a breeze," Taffyta scoffed as her and Vanellope nervously caught eyes.
"Who is it, then?" Penny worried as her, Oliver and Zed pushed into the group a little; Tessa just barely hung back with Lickity.
"Peach and Daisy," Taffyta muttered as she cocked an eyebrow; the group fell silent.
"I don't think they've ever lost a game," Vanellope worried as she glanced across the court, as well, "They may seem frilly and dainty and all, but... Looks are deceiving."
"Bah, c'mon, you can take 'em," Zed waved his hand and furrowed his eyebrows, his smile was kind towards Vanellope, "The Mushroom Kingdom's Princess has nothing over Sugar Rush's Queen."
"With how many times the pink one goes missing, I'm surprised they even showed up," Ralph uttered under his breath, though loud enough to get a hard chuckle out of Rancis and Oliver.
"It's gunna be one hell of a show, I'll tell you that," Vanellope muttered as her and Taffyta caught nervous stares.
Taffyta crossed her arms and beamed Vanellope a sly, snotty smile, "Hey, at least we won't be the ones worrying about breaking a nail."