"Gotta say, bro. I wasn't expecting that," voiced Jimmy, gripping Jey's shoulder as if to guide him back to reality. "Guess Rhea and Condom are over," he added, a faint smile painting his lips, with shock written across his features. Jimmy was aware Jey wanted to attend Prom with Rhea; there had been endless times when he'd mentioned it, but it had always been in a wishful way. Now, however, it appeared that those wishful thoughts were becoming a reality, even more so when Rhea had just left the boy's locker room after asking Jey to prom, reversing the roles with a smile gracing her lips. Jey had been so taken aback he'd forgotten how to speak, and his confidence had abandoned him, leaving him a nervous, bumbling mess.
"You speak as if you were expecting Rhea to be the traditional girly girl type," Kevin commented from the opposite side of the lockers. "She's a Darkling; they don't do normal or boring," he added, Sami agreeing from his unseen spot near Kevin. "Dress your best, though; still got to impress her."
"I've already been added to their group chats; Demon plans on stalking all of us guys if we don't dress our best," replied Jey, looking up from his phone. A smile gracing his lips now, the Darklings worked fast. It had been minutes since he'd mumbled yes to Rhea's request. He was already part of the Mix-n-Match group chat and the Darklings one, although he assumed the Darklings was an honourary invite. "That's cute; JD and Becky are going together as the Irish Connection," commented Jey, suspecting, like many, that the date was nothing more than as friends.
"I thought the Man would go with Seth," voiced Roman, joining the others in the locker room. Neither had any planned subjects, just another free one, at least for the seniors. "Guess I didn't know them as well as I thought I did," he added with sorrow flooding his voice. Still down over being rejected by Seth and Dean, although he'd never voice it, he knew he deserved it. "Jesus," called Roman upon running into Dexter, the guy hidden in the shadowy corner, Bo across from him, seemingly channeling his brother with the creepy mask and bout of eery laughter.
"You two sure you're not Darklings?" asked Jimmy, popping his head around the lockers. "You sure do act like them, even if a little creepier," he added, curious if there was a connection between the Darklings and those known as the Wyatts. Both groups were similar yet different enough not to be mistaken for the other.
"Similar, not the same," Bo said, recalling the pact between the two groups created by Bray and Finn. The students considered regular had plenty of social groups to choose from; now, with the pact made, those considered darker or outcasts had a choice, too. "We help each other out," he added, recalling Cross being the one to float between the two groups, helping to connect them further.
"How?" asked Dominik upon entering through the back door, shivering slightly from the eery feeling washing over him and the blast from the air conditioner above the door.
"Doesn't matter," replied Dexter, glaring at Dominik. "Although Roman's a fool if he thinks some of the family haven't already caught on to Serenity's sympathy act," he added, turning his attention to the Samoan in time to see the uncertainty in his eyes, as well as confusion clouding them shortly after as if he was unsure who "the Family" referenced.
"He got bigger fish to fry now," Jimmy smirked. "He gotta tell his mama he got his girlfriend pregnant and what his dumbass did to get excluded," he added, knowing that task alone would be a difficult one; Mama Reigns was known to be strict with all her children, lousy behavior wouldn't be taken lightly, especially when it had a significant impact on the future. "As for the attempted mind games with the family, he's already shown them his hand. He's just too dumb to realize it."
"I'm not playing mind games with anyone. There's no point," sighed Roman, throwing his gym bag into his locker before stamping off toward the bathroom. Incoherent, mumbled words escaped his lips as he went. "Serenity's going dress shopping with the mix-n-match girls, no games involved, just normal girl stuff with friends," he added as he returned, almost as if he was talking to himself rather than those in the locker room.
"Except Serenity isn't one of them or a friend," called Dom, listening to his gut instincts when they told him something was off. He knew the family referenced well enough; they wouldn't forget the hurt and pain just because, nor would they ignore their instincts when something was suspicious. "She may be with them, but that doesn't mean they trust her; that just means she's a lesser enemy than you and me at the moment."
"They excommunicate you or something," spoke Sami, picking up when Dom had referred to himself as an enemy as if he was accepting there was little he could do to fix what he'd broken.
"Or something," replied Dom, an echo of sadness. Still, he could not bring himself to regret what happened. He realized he was stupid for not ending with his Rhea or being honest with her, but he also couldn't deny there was a bigger spark with Liv. "I've accepted the consequences of my actions and the fact Rhea wants to dismember both me and Liv, hence why I ain't pushing my luck further. Rhea's said her piece, made her stance clear; I'd be a bigger fool than him if I keep testing it," he added, briefly motioning toward Roman as he spoke.
"I'll give you that condom; you're smarter than you act," spoke Kevin, realizing the younger Darkling was smarter than he acted. Or at least he cared enough for those who took him under their wings so as not to damage things further. "They haven't turned on you, have they?" asked the brawler, noticing the differences. While Roman had all but lost it all due to his inability to leave well enough alone, Dominik, on the other hand, seemed to have taken the path of acceptance, preventing the loss he would have otherwise suffered.
"Nope," confirmed Dom, "I didn't push it further, and I apologized to Rhea, even if I don't regret what happened with Liv. We Darklings are family. We'll eventually find our way back to each other, even if we go our separate ways for a little while," he added, suspecting the trait would have carried over to the larger Mix-n-Match group, especially if he had interpreted the signs correctly. "I think Brie was the one to notice the sympathy act," he added, sharing his conclusion about who Dexter may have referred to before.
Dexter could only hum as if confirming Dom's suspicions without making them overly obvious. Roman, on the other hand, merely shook his head before stamping from the tiled room, heading towards the school gym equipped with the intention of working out and maybe letting some of his growing frustrations out.
"Told yah they were still together," spoke Jey, lightly pushing Jimmy before chuckling. "Even Jacob said that whole break-up speech sounded rehearsed," he added, mentioning their destructive cousin. "If Brie knows, it will only be a matter of time before the rest of the ze family does. Then the war will spark again," he added, as he began to question Serenity's motive for all the almost constant drama. Roman had made his obvious popularity and restored the old ways. On the other hand, Serenity wasn't so apparent, or at least seemed to change the further she got into her little games.
"Makes you wonder what Baby Momma's motives are for all the shenanigans," spoke Sami, noticing both Dexter and Bo had tuned out of the conversations now Roman had left. Instead, the duo was talking about attending the final round of the Wrestling Tournament and the signs they planned on making in support of their friends, acting as if they were regular students.
"Jealousy," replied Dom as if it were obvious. He chuckled small as he looked up to see four identical looks of intrigue and confusion. "Everything Serenity wants from her school life, Echo has or had at some point—popularity, close-knit friend group, epic high school love story, etc. Serenity's jealous of it and wants it for herself," he added, recalling when Echo had answered that very question months ago, when all of it had started, back then; however, the Darkling had been under the assumption Serenity was jealous of Summer. "Think of it as a one-sided civil war. Serenity will do anything for all of it and restore the traditional old ways, whereas Echo doesn't care for most of it, even when she was part of the reason everything was turned on its head in the first place."
"So what you saying is, when that gasket blows, everyone's gonna know about it," replied Jimmy, wracking his memory to find the missed signs. He'd not seen any before. Even when it was becoming increasingly clear, there had been many signs. "That's why Roman aimed at Seth for the whole secret reveal drama," he added as if it suddenly made sense. "I'm still rooting for Architect's Demon, by the way."
"We all are, buddy," replied Sami, "I'd vote them prom king and queen if they were running for it," he added with a chuckle. "You think they know we're all rooting for them to reconcile?" he voiced after pondering the thought for a few quiet moments.
"Do you think Drew and Nikki know we call them Superman and Wonder Woman?" Kevin asked in response. "Or that we call Punk and AJ the Summer of Crazy?" he added shortly after, receiving a chuckle from Dexter from the latter comment.
"What do you call the others?" enquired Bo, curious to know what the collective nicknames for the other couples were. Even more so when he'd not heard the Summer of Crazy one before.
"A-Listers, Beauty and the Rebel, Prince's Special, providing Summer and Finn get together," replied Sami with an ire of innocents.
"Loony Lovebirds and Sinful Symphany," added Kevin, fearless when recounting the nicknames, his confidence growing when Dexter, Dominik, and Bo shared their amusement by the nicknames others had bestowed upon the couples.
"What would Jey and Rhea be if they got together?" asked Jimmy, chuckling shortly after as many ideas ran through his mind, although he refused to word any of them.
"Isn't it obvious, Yeet of Destruction," voiced Dominik, surprising those in the locker room by speaking up. "She might wanna murder me, but that doesn't mean she's not still family," he added, showing his more caring side again; he did care for Rhea and the other Darklings, even with the recent drama. Above all else, they were family and would solve their problems without severing that connection.
"Yeet of Destruction ... I can get behind that," replied Jey, an amused grin painting his lips now. The reality was slowly dawning on him, though. Rhea had asked him to prom, and his wishful thinking had somehow become a reality. Yet still, he questioned if he was imagining everything or even why Rhea had chosen him. She could have asked anyone, including her Terror Twin in Damian.
"Well, at least you can deliver good news to the family, counteract Roman's stupidity," said Jimmy, recalling their dad asking time and time again if either of his boys were going to the prom with anyone. Siko had dodged the question expertly, whereas Jimmy always said, "Naomi." Jey, on the other hand, always stayed silent. Although now he suspected that would change, Yeet of Destruction was going to prom.