canon to events in Ramona Forever :)
THEME: #10 ~ Shall We Dance?
Howie Kemp had made a decision: he was not getting married. Weddings simply weren't worth it.
Well, Uncle Hobart's wasn't that bad. It'd eventually gotten better. But still.
He'd felt stupid in his shorts and high socks, hated being cooed at/coddled by guests, and was unnerved by Aunt Bea's staring students (the girls, anyway). Bored to death, he'd started singing softly, only to have Ramona snap at him.
(But his version of "Here Comes the Bride" was more entertaining. Aunt Bea had laughed.)
Things started getting interesting when the ring went missing (not his fault—he'd never wanted to be ring-bearer), but Ramona found it soon enough. That put everyone in a good mood, and then there had been the reception. Drinks and sandwiches. Definitely the best part.
Even that was interrupted by silly girls coming up to him and then dashing away for no reason. He attributed this to his ridiculous clothes and sulked by the refreshments. Eventually, he'd spotted Beezus and Ramona, both glowing in their white, airy dresses. Ramona caught his gaze and skipped over.
"Isn't this the most wonderful thing ever?" she'd sighed.
Her eyes shone and she even looked pretty. Just a little.
"No," he muttered, reaching for another sandwich. "'S boring."
Ramona seemed not to hear. "Listen!" she chirped, reaching for his wrist. An upbeat tune was starting to play. She turned to him eagerly. "Shall we dance?"
He stared at her in an obviously distasteful expression.
"Great!" Ramona beamed, tugging him onto the dancefloor.
He'd noticed belatedly that her feet were bare, but then the music wasn't so bad, her laughter sounded kinda nice, and he now had something to do-
"Hey, we're cousins now," Ramona said.
"Yuck. Too weird," he'd replied.
"I like friends better," she smiled, and he grinned in agreement.
pssst. your secret shipper agenda is showing.