//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14: A Fancy Ball 
// Story: A Search for Something More 
// by HAKDurbin 
//------------------------------//

We've been here for ten minutes, and already I can't stand where I am. Everywhere Octavia and I are walking, all these people are blabbering about clothing, gossip, business deals, and heaven know what else. Half the time, it's hard to know what they're even saying because their accents sound over-the-top compared to Octavia's or her parents'. Heck, even my mocking impression of accent is probably easier to understand than how these people are talking.
"Octavia, how much can you understand the way they're talking?" I ask.
Octavia chuckles at my question and says, "I know it can be tricky to understand them. Lord knows it was hard for me on my first time here. It's something that takes years of practice I'm afraid."
"Octavia? Is that you, young lady?"
We turn around to see a woman in her late 50s wearing a long dark blue dress and glasses.
"Oh, Mrs. Set, how are you?" Octavia says with a fake smile, both she and the woman clasped hands and kiss each side of their cheeks.
"It feels like it's been forever since your family moved," Mrs. Set says before she turns to me. "And who might you be, young man?"
"Oh yes, this is my boyfriend, Rough Draft," Octavia answers.
"How do you do, ma'am?" I politely.
I offer her my hand, but Mrs. Set stares at me skeptically, raising her eyebrow.
"My, you're not from around here, are you?" She says.
"Uh, no ma'am, I'm from Canterlot, a suburb not far from Crystal City," I answer calmly.
"Well, that would explain it," Mrs. Set says in an amused tone. "You're supposed to bow when you introduce yourself. My dear Octavia, I'm surprised your boyfriend doesn't know about this."
"Oh, silly me," Octavia says with a fake chuckle. "I seem to have forgotten to tell him."
"Oh, pish posh, that's no excuse," Mrs. Set says, waving her hand. "Why if my dear son, Jet Set, knew that there is someone in here who greets someone this way at a ball, he'd have a fit."
Ah, so this is the mother of that guy, Jet Set, huh? That figures.
"Uh, my apologies Mrs. Set. I mean no disrespect," I say with a little bow.
"Hmm, well, at least you're smart enough to have some manners. Good evening, Octavia," Mrs. Set says as she turns around and leaves.
"Good evening, Mrs. Set," Octavia calls out as Mrs. Set leaves before she hisses in my ear, "Bow! Bow! I've told you this a million times!"
"Sorry. It's a force of habit to act like a normal person," I defend.
Octavia scoffs at my response. "Well, hopefully, you've learned your lesson for the next time."
I was about to say I did when something catches my eye. Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna are walking towards us with Principal Celestia wearing a dark green and black dress while Vice-Principal Luna is wearing a violet dress. Principal Celestia has a calm demeanor, but Vice-Principal Luna follows behind her older sister with a glass of champagne in one hand and a weary yet annoyed look on her face.
"Principal Celestia? Vice-Principal Luna?" Octavia says, noticing the two sisters herself. 
"Well, if it isn't Octavia Melody and Rough Draft," Principal Celestia says with a smile. "What a surprise to see a couple of our students here."
"Oh yes, what a *hic* surprise or whatever," Vice-Principal Luna says in a tipsy and dismal tone.
"Yeah, we're here with Octavia's parents," I explain. "What about you two?"
"Oh, we're here because our cousin and his wife are out of town, and their little * hic* kid and his friends wanted to come here, so our cousin asked to come here with him," Vice-Principal Luna answers.
Principle Celestia looks at Vice Principal Luna disapprovingly and says, "Luna, he's not a little kid anymore. He -"
"I don't care how old he is, Tia!" Vice-Principal Luna barks. "He could be your age, and I'll still see him as that little devil who threw away all of my video games because he thought they were 'so childish!'"
"You hate your nephew because of some video games?" Octavia asks skeptically.
"I worked hard for my collection of old NES and Sega Genesis games!" Vice-Principal Luna exclaims, shaking her fist. "And then we had to look after him for one weekend, and that eight-year-old little demon thinks it's his 'social duty' to secretly throw them all away and wait to proudly tell me until after the trash truck collected the garbage. I couldn't do a thing about because 'he's only eight,' and now we have to take him to some prissy fancy ball. My poor games must have vengeance!"
Octavia and I look at her, unable to think of a response. I can understand liking old video games being a nerd and all, but the fire in Vice-Principle Luna's eyes is a little frightening to see. Principal Celestia, on the other hand, crosses her arms and rolls her eyes having heard this before.
Vice-Principal Luna finishes the last of her drink and, with a disgusted face says, "This is bland stuff. I'm gonna check to see if they have anything better."
"Luna!" Principal Celestia ridicules, but Vice Principal Luna has long pushed her way past a few people heading to the bar. She sighs before she turns to Octavia and me.
"I'm sorry you had to see that, you two," She says. "Enjoy your time here, and please don't bring this up to anyone in school."
We nod politely before she leaves to look for Vice-Principal Luna at the bar.
After a moment of silence, I say, "Well, there's a side of Vice-Principal Luna, you don't see every day."
"Indeed," Octavia says.
Suddenly, we hear a bell ring as an old man is waving it up and down with his head held high before he announces, "Attention, the ballroom is open for dancing."
The majority of the crowd proceeds to the ballroom while others stay to chat. Octavia takes my hand, and she escorts me to the ballroom.
"Octavia, I may know this from just watching Titanic, but isn't the whole ringing-the-bell-up-and-down thing only for informing that dinner's ready for high-class people?" I ask.
"Back then, yes," Octavia answers. "But they still like to use someone like that old man for other purposes like this."
I roll my eyes before I bluntly say, "Octavia, these people are bigger dorks than I am."
"I know, darling," She says before we stop at a good spot on the dance floor. "Now, do you think you can at least perform an adequate waltz?"
I decide to act confident as I grab her left hand and place my right arm on her waist and smugly ask, "Can you?"
"Oh, someone is a little sure of himself," She says, amused. "Just try not to step on my toes or bump into people."
"Oh please, dearie, you're talking to the 'Dodging Master,'" I say jokingly. "I may have forbidden us from bringing that up again, but I can't deny it helped me avoid accidentally harming anyone."
Octavia snickers at my joke.
"I'll hold you to that, Rough Draft," she says.
The music begins, and we start waltzing. The song is very calm and collective, and everyone is waltzing very slowly. Most of them have their eyes closed, and their chin raised to still 'act properly.' The two of us are dancing equally slow as I make sure I am doing it right. As the song plays, I notice that Octavia is looking anxious. I grow suspicious that she's worried about the fact that I could embarrass her.
Then an idea clicks in my mind, and I lean towards her ear, singing, "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream..."
Octavia immediately snaps out of it and hisses, "Rough Draft! Not now!"
"Aw come on, we're waltzing in a nice fancy place, it was a good opportunity," I quietly protest.
"Yes, but not now, while people could be looking at us weird," Octavia says.
"Are you anxious that they'll look at us weird or that I'll embarrass you?" I challenge. 
Octavia tries to protest but reluctantly sighs.
"You're right. I'm sorry, darling," she says. "I guess after so many years here it's become a force of habit to worry about what these people think. But I do want you here with me."
"You also did say that you want me here to make things more cheery for you. Hard to do when I can't even make a movie reference that will make you laugh," I counter.
"Heh, no, I suppose not," Octavia admits. "Forgiven?"
"Forgiven," I reply with a smile. 
We peck each other on the lips, and she lays her chin on my shoulder while I lean my head against hers. As the music plays, we let ourselves stay in this peaceful moment where it feels like it is just us dancing. Suddenly, it hits me that this moment feels so romantic, and we seem so alone despite the people around us that maybe now is the right time to confess.
"Octavia," I begin making her move her head back to face me. "This might not be the right place, but I think this is the right moment to -"
"Oh, no. Not now," she mutters horrified.
My heart sinks and I glumly say, "Well I guess I can understand if you -"
"Why is he here now?" Octavia continues. 
I look at her, confused as I realize she is staring past me.
"Wait, what are you talking about?" I ask. 
I start to turn my head before Octavia forces me to face her with her hand and commands, "Don't look, get low, and follow me."
I have no idea what was going on, but she grabs my hand and crouches down sneaking past the other dancers making me do the same. I want to protest, but I have a feeling that I'm not getting an answer right now. We make our way to a broom closet on the other side of the ballroom, and Octavia mutters, "Get in," as she forces both of us inside and closes the door. She finds the light switch, and a small light bulb dimly lights the closet. I turn to face her as she has her head down and lets out a frustrated grunt.
"Octavia, what's going on?" I finally ask.
But instead of an answer, she hides her face with her hair and lets out a muffled scream. The scream is followed by a rant, making me feel awkward from watching her cry into her long, dark grey hair. Eventually, she pulls her hair back to reveal her weary face.
"So..." I carefully begin. "Care to enlighten me on what's up?"
Octavia sighs before she answers, "Sorry, Rough Draft. It's just that the worst thing that could happen just happened."
"How?" I ask. 
Octavia slowly opens the door slightly and gestures me to look from the opening.
"Do you see the tall guy with the white skin and the golden hair?" She asks.
I search around the crowd of dancers until I spot a tall guy with white skin and golden hair. His suit looks expensive, his posture is very straight and confident, and his face gives a sense of pride and determination.
"Okay, I see him," I answer.
"That, my darling, is Blueblood," Octavia explains. "They call him the 'Prince of Manehattan.' He's infamous in the high-class world for being tall, handsome, charming, and the son of one of the wealthiest families in the country. And he's the guy I thought I was in love with."
I turn to her, surprised and ask, "Wait, this is the guy you had a crush on that was using you for his popularity?"
"Yes," she answers sadly. "Ugh, why did he have to come to this bloody ball now of all times?"
"You didn't think he'd come here?" I question.
"Well, it's like I said, Rough Draft, no one else our age goes to this ball," Octavia answers. "Even when I was going out with him, I never would have dreamed of him coming here even for me. As far as I knew, we had a better chance of The Dazzlings and Sunset Shimmer popping up here as sirens and a she-demon again than him coming here."
"Do you think he came here figuring you might be here?" I ask.
Octavia's face freezes for a moment before it turns into a look of annoyance.
"Well, now I do!" She exclaims. "Ugh, what the dickens do we do now?!"
I think about it before I shrug and say, "Well, it's obvious, isn't it? We go over there and tell him off."
"I told you, Rough Draft, he won't back down. He's too persistent for that," Octavia says.
Yes, but this time you have a boyfriend to let him know that you're not available," I say. "Besides, were stuck here in the most cliché hiding place while he supposedly is searching all over the place for you. Sooner or later, we have to get out of this closet and face him."
"Uh, can't we just stay here and make out or something until the ball is over and then sneak away?" Octavia protests.
"Tempting, but I don't think that's going to fly if he's as stubborn as you say he is," I answer. "Besides, how are we going to sneak away when your parents will probably start looking for us too if we stay here that long? That might grab some attention."
Octavia sighs and rests her head on my chest, defeated.
"You're right," She admits. "I just don't want to face that pig."
I raise her head with my hand before I smile and say, "Hey, you're trying to help me come to terms with what happened between Sunset Shimmer and me, so it's only fair that I help you do the same with your own Sunset Shimmer. Worst case scenario, he keeps trying to get you back, and we just constantly rebuke him until we go home. Whatever happens, we're going to face it together."
Octavia gives me a smirk and says, "You're just using my words from when we were chasing Sonata and Adagio."
"Well, yeah, I am," I admit with my own smile. "But I still mean it."
Octavia smiles and caresses my cheek with her hand before she gives me a peck on the lips. When we separate, she looks at me deep into my eyes and says, "Together."
I nod as I confirm, "Together."
Octavia opens the door, and we walk out of the broom closet.



*******************************************************************************************************



Octavia and I make our way back to the ballroom and decide to go back to dancing, figuring Blueblood should come to if I'm right about why he's here. The music has changed to another slow dance song, and so we start waltzing again. We don't say anything as we dance quietly and enjoy the moment of peace.
"You know, I think I'm doing pretty well with dancing all things considered," I say.
Octavia chuckles.
"Yes, all that practice has paid off, and honestly, I'm happy it has," She says with a sweet smile. "This has been the best part of the night for me. Just the two of us dancing to the calm music. I wish this can last the whole night."
"Yeah, me too," I say with my own smile. 
We briefly kiss again before Octavia once again lays her head on my shoulder, and I rest my head on hers. For a while, there is nothing but the two of us in our own quiet world, but then Octavia pulls her head back to look at me.
"By the way, you were going to tell me something before I spotted Blueblood. What was it?" She asks.
Oh yeah. I had completely forgotten that I was going to confess to her.
I clear my throat and say, "Actually now might not be the best -"
"Why, who do we have here?" Says a boastful voice coming from behind me.
Octavia mutters under her breath before we reluctantly turn around to see Blueblood walking towards us with a confident grin.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't my dear little flower, Octavia Melody," He says.
Wow. I've only officially met him for about seven seconds now, and already, my hands are balled into fists. That's impressive.
"Oh, Blueblood," Octavia greets with her teeth clenched. "I thought I told you never to call me that again."
"Oh, pish posh, I know deep down you love to when I call you that," he says with a wave of his hand. "After all, you will always be my sparkling gray diamond."
Okay, that's just disturbing.
I walk in front of Blueblood and gave him a death glare as I coldly say, "I would back away if I were you, buddy."
He looks at me with his eyebrows raised and asks, "And who are you?"
Octavia stands next to me and wraps her arms around mine. 
"This is Rough Draft, my boyfriend." She answers, emphasizing on the word "boyfriend."
Blueblood stands there for a moment before he makes what I can best describe as a fancy giggle.
"Oh my, that's the most amusing thing I've ever heard in ages," he says.
"It's no joke, buddy," I say sternly. "Octavia Melody is my girlfriend. We've been dating for about seven weeks now."
He giggles again and says, "It's even funnier when you say it, thinking you are worthy of spending time with a creature this lovely and try to justify it by announcing how long you two have been dating. How silly."
"Well, I do agree that I'm hardly worthy of being with a girl as wonderful as Octavia," I admit, which makes Octavia smile before I continue. "But it seems clear to me that I'm a thousand times more worthy of being with her than you are."
Blueblood raises his eyebrow and gives me a smug look.
"Indeed? And what is it that you do in your spare time, Mr. Draft," he queries.
"I'm a writer," I say plainly. "I write Star Wars fan fiction."
Yeah, that might not be the smartest thing to say, but I thought I'd amuse him before I finally strike.
He looks at me for a moment before he roars with laughter. He laughs so hard that people stop dancing, the band stops playing, and the few that stayed out in the hall walk inside the ballroom, curious about what is going on. 
Finally, Blueblood manages to control his laughter and says in mid laughter, "S-star Wars fanfiction? Octavia dearest, you are trying to give up a life of luxury as my queen for some fan fiction writer? What a silly girl you are."
His words enrage Octavia. She is about to say something before I step in.
"At least I can do something more productive than walk around thinking I'm some pretty princess," I say smugly.
Everyone around us gasps at my comeback with Blueblood looking at me appalled. It wasn't a particularly harsh thing to say, but I guess if he's as popular as Octavia says, it's probably unthinkable to them for someone to insult their beloved "prince." 
"What on Earth did you say?!" he exclaims.
"You heard what I said," I answer. "I've only known you for all of two minutes, and I've heard enough about you from my girlfriend to confirm that you're by far the most stubborn, arrogant, and flamboyant person I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. I'm even embarrassed to know that of all the quote-unquote 'rivals' for Octavia's affections you're the best the world can do against me."
The crowd once again gasps and starts whispering to each other. Octavia stands next to me with her arms crossed and smirking, pleased with my insults.
"You dare to speak to me in that manner?!" Blueblood shouts. "I am Blueblood, the Prince of Manehattan! Nobody talks to me that way!"
"Then it pleases me to be the first," I mockingly say with a little curtsy. "Frankly, I'm amazed that you're so highly praised for the shallowest of reasons. I would've hoped that most people are smarter than that. I should give you credit for you at least tried to pursue Octavia for her musical talent as well as her beauty, even if it is for social gain. But no matter what you say, she wants to be with me and not you, and if you don't like that, you can kiss it."
Everyone around us is even more appalled at my demeanor. I notice on the other side of the room that Octavia's parents are watching us. Alto is pleased with how I'm defending his daughter while Tempo is acting embarrassed around her high society friends while also hiding a smile on her face.
Blueblood's...well blood boils.
"That's it! Boys, get this filth out of my sight!" He barks. 
I'm confused for a moment until two guys in tuxedos and sunglasses come at me from behind, grab my shoulders and arms and start dragging me away out of the ballroom.
Seriously? He's so rich that he has henchmen? And I thought it was messed up when Sunset Shimmer had henchmen before the Fall Formal.
Octavia wraps her arms around me from behind, and tries to break me free from their grasp, commanding, "Let go of him!" Blueblood grabs her from behind and pulls her away from me. She kicks and screams, but he is stronger than her.
"Oh, don't fret yourself about that nobody, little flower," he says confidently. "It's best that we just go back to us."
I turn my head around while being dragged away about to call out to Octavia, but the moment I do, I witness something that enrages me.
Blueblood has his arms tightly around Octavia and has his lips forcefully smashed together with hers. She is hitting him on the head, trying to set herself free, but to no effect.
Oh. That. Does it.
With all the might I can muster, I yank my arms until one of them is free from the guy on my right. I elbow him in the stomach before I turn and punch the guy on my left. Neither actions are particularly effective since I'm not that strong, but thankfully they hurt enough that I was freed. I race over to Octavia and Blueblood and tap Blueblood over his shoulder, making him go of Octavia and turns around to face me. With all the strength I can muster, I place my hands on his shoulders and knee him in the groin. He drops hard on the grown moaning in pain with a high-pitched voice and both hands on his sensitive area.
"Nobody kisses my girlfriend except me!" I shout before I turn to Octavia. "Are you alright?"
"Blegh! I think I'll need to wash my mouth for several months, but I'll be fine," she says disgustedly. "Thanks for coming to my rescue."
"Hey, there was no way I was going to let him get away with that," I say. "Plus, I've always wanted to do that, and it's pretty funny that he fell for the tap on the shoulder."
Octavia rolls her eyes and says with a smile, "You a such a dork."
"Yeah, well, I'm your dork, so there," I say, returning her smile.
Our moment is broken, however, when we hear Blueblood groan as he slowly gets up and gives me a death glare. Guess I didn't hit his cherries hard enough to keep him down. Too bad. His henchmen are running to grab me again, but Blueblood holds his hand up, telling them to wait. He regains his posture and walks over to me until we are face to face.
"You've got some nerve," he snarls.
"Says the guy who thinks he can kiss my girlfriend," I say back.
Blueblood huffs at my comeback before he says coldly, "You know, Mr. Draft, you may attack like a brute, but you're still a worthless nobody compared to me, and that's all you'll ever be. I'm willing to bet that you're not even able to take care of yourself, much less a being like Ms. Melody. You're nothing but a pawn of no real worth, and that's that."
Pawn. Nothing more than a worthless pawn, just like with Sunset Shimmer and the Dazzlings. I grow angry at his insult, but before I can do anything about it, I notice Octavia being angrier than I am. She storms over to Blueblood and punches him in the face. The crowd gasps, and he barely has a moment to react before she hits him again, and again, and again until he is on his knees, unable to take any more. Then, she grabs him by his suit and pulls him up, so he is face to face with her.
"You listen here, and you listen well, you miserable git!" She shouts. "I've had enough with you trying to persuade me to be a part of your arrogant game! You don't care about anyone but yourself and your bloody social status that doesn't mean squat in the real world! You embarrass yourself trying to woo me even when I made it perfectly clear that I want nothing to do with you! You wouldn't even care if you knew half of the things I've experienced good and bad since the moment I left this city! Rough Draft, on the other hand, cares about me! He's kind, supportive, passionate as an artist in his own right, and in my eyes worth more than some half-witted, stiff-necked pig like you!"
Whoa.
Seriously, I'm is touched by the way she is defending me.
Blueblood frees himself from Octavia's grasp and regains his posture, ignoring the bruises forming on his face as if Octavia's outburst never happened. 
"Why do you care if he's any of those silly things?" He challenges with a smug look. 
Octavia groans in annoyance before she shouts, "Because I'm in love with Rough Draft!"
Wait. WHAT?!
Everyone is staring at Octavia, and it takes a moment before she realizes what she just said out loud. She blushes before she shakes her head and turns to the crowd. 
"Yes, that's right. I love him. I! Love! Him!" She shouts proudly. "He's not born of high-class or popular, but I don't care because I love him for who he is!"
She turns to me with her anger melting to a kind smile as she walks over to me until we are face to face.
"I love you, Rough Draft," she says sweetly.
I beam at these words as I wrap my arms around her and say, "I love you too, Octavia. It's what I've wanted to tell you all night."
Octavia's smile widens as she wraps her arms around my neck, and we share a deep kiss. Tempo shouts, "Awww!" so loud that it practically echoes the entire ballroom. Once Octavia and I part, we look deep into each other's eyes, as we hold each other
Blueblood, on the other hand, is snickering at our moment.
"Seriously? You are in love with him?" He asks mockingly. "You must be truly desperate to think you're in love with some low-life like him,"
We part from our hug and him a death glare.
"You're the only desperate one, blondie," I say. "Octavia wants to be with me and not you. You can blabber about how displeased you are with that, or you can take it like a grown-up. But, I think we all know you're going to do the former, so I think I'll speak for myself and Octavia that we'll be leaving now."
"No, I think not," Blueblood says as he snaps his fingers, and the two guys behind him start coming towards us. "I don't care if you think you love this nobody or not, my gray diamond. I'm still going to -"
"BLUEY!"
Blueblood suddenly shakes in fear as the crowd parts to see Principal Celestia angry and Vice-Principal Luna following her with an excited, maniacal grin.
"Auntie Tia! Auntie Lulu!" Blueblood manages to say as he quivers. 
Both Octavia and I look at each other confused.
"Is he the nephew that they were talking about?" I ask.
"It sounds that way, darling," Octavia answers. 
Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna make their way to Blueblood, glaring daggers at him.
"H-how long were you watching?" He asks.
"We watched the whole thing," Principal Celestia answers.
"Yes, we were about to interfere when you kissed Octavia Melody, but once we saw Rough Draft beating your buddies and started to head towards you, I suggested we wait and see what happens first," Vice-Principal Luna adds. "I must say, I was amused at how both of them gave you what was coming to you."
"Luna!" Principal Celestia ridicules.
"Oh, don't give me that, Tia," Vice-Principal Luna rebukes. "This spoiled brat may be my nephew, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy watching someone hitting him in the nuts. I don't usually allow that kind of action from our students, but in this case, thank you for giving me the pleasure, Mr. Draft."
I feel a little on the spot as her eyes turn to me.
"Uh, glad that you enjoyed it?" I say awkwardly.
Principal Celestia rolls her eyes before she turns back to Blueblood.
"As much as I'm not surprised at your attitude, Bluey, I will not tolerate how you've been harassing Ms. Melody when she has made it clear that she's with someone else."
"But Auntie Tia..." Blueblood whines.
"No, buts," Principal Celestia interrupts. "I think it's time to take you home."
"And I shall personally drag you away," Vice-Principal Luna says eagerly. "I assume that suits Mr. Draft and Ms. Melody just fine, yes?"
Octavia and I look at each other before I shrug and say, "Sure. You can drag him by both of his ears for all we care."
Vice-Principal Luna stands still for a moment before an evil grin grows on her face.
"Luna..." Principal Celestia begins.
"Too late, Tia," Vice-Principal Luna says. "He gave me the suggestion, and now I'm gonna do it!"
Without another word, she grabs Blueblood from behind by both of his ears and drags him away while Blueblood whines in pain. His henchmen try to stop her, but one frightening glare from the Vice-Principal is all it takes to make them back away.
"Auntie Lulu, please! Have mercy!" Blueblood begs like a child.
"What about my games, you whiny termite? Did you show them mercy?" Vice-Principal Luna asks coldly as she starts to twist his ears hard, making him scream more in pain much to her sick pleasure. "Oh, yes. Let it out, Bluey! This is for my Zelda games! This is for my Castlevania games! And this is for my Sega Genesis! Oh, how they shall finally rest in peace with your screams!"
Vice-Principal Luna roars in joyful, maniacal laughter that drowns out Blueblood's screams of pain. As the three of them exit the ballroom, Principal Celestia clears her throat and nervously says, "I apologize for my sister and my nephew's behavior. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your night," before she leaves with everyone just standing bewildered. No one says anything for a moment until I clear my throat and turn to Octavia.
"Well, there's something I would never have expected us to witness today," I say with a suppressed laugh.
"Indeed," She says with her own suppressed laugh.
"Did uh, did that give you any closure or something with that guy?" I ask.
Octavia remains silent for a few seconds, still staring at where Blueblood and his aunts just were before she eventually answers, "Well, it wasn't the most mature way to settle the matter, but I suppose it's close enough all things considered."
I give her a small smile before it turns into an uneasy frown.
"So..." I begin. "I realize this may sound pointless to ask since we just had a romantic moment, but given how the last girl who said those words to me turned out to be an evil, I want you to tell me honestly; do you mean it when you say you love me?"
Octavia looks deep into my eyes before and puts her hand on my cheek, smiling sweetly.
"I do," She says. "I know we've only been together for a few weeks, and I can't deny that you're not perfect, but I also meant every word I said to him. You are kind and supportive, and you at least try to do better for me, whether it's with your writing or with Sunset Shimmer. We've already been through a lot together, and I can't imagine what we may face soon. All I know is that I truly love you, Rough Draft. You mean more to me than anything my life in Manehattan could offer."
I smile back her and place my hand on her cheek as well.
"And you make me happier than I thought I ever could be," I say. "We may not be perfect, and yeah, maybe we started doing things a little too quick, but as time has gone, I haven't felt surer about how I feel after you have been so caring and supportive of me. I meant it when I said I don't deserve you. I believed it when we first met, and I believe it now, but it doesn't change how I feel. I love you too, Octavia."
She smiles as we are about to kiss again when we are interrupted by someone clearing their throat. We turn our heads to find a disapproving Mrs. Set.
"I think it's time for the two of you to leave," She says sternly.
I look at Octavia for a moment, and we both shrug before I say, "That's fine. Your 'orthodox' ways make you bigger dorks than I am anyway."
Mrs. Set gasps offended before I take Octavia's hand, and we walk to the exit with her parents excusing themselves before joining us. But before we leave, Octavia stops running and turns back to the crowd.
"Oh, and by the way," she begins. "As much as I respect some of you who are good friends with my parents, there are others who I'm just as glad to have moved away from as I am with your beloved 'prince.' So, please understand that I only mean this to those of you who aren't friends of my parents in the most lady-like way when I say..."
Without another word, she bites her thumb at everyone in the ballroom, causing all of them to gasp in shock. Then, she grabs my hand and pulls me to the elevator with her parents following behind us. We make our way to the elevator, and the door opens as soon as Octavia hits the button. She wastes no time in dragging me inside and pressing the button for the ground floor just as her parents come in. Once the door is closed, Tempo turns to Octavia displeased.
"Octavia, that was completely uncalled for!" She rebukes. "Now, we will never be allowed to participate in the ball again! Don't you know how much I love coming here?!"
Octavia, however, doesn't appear to have listened to her. Instead, she takes a deep breath and laughs joyously. Neither of us knows how to react before Octavia calms down and turns to her mom.
"I'm sorry, mother," she says. "I couldn't help myself. I had that bottled up for the longest time."
Tempo doesn't say anything at first, but eventually, her disapproving glare melts to a smile.
"Aw, how can I stay mad at you, sweetie?" She says excitedly. "Besides, I'm so happy that you just confessed your love to your boyfriend!"
Without another word, Tempo wraps her arms around Octavia and me and hugs us tightly. We both yelp in pain as she almost lifts us from the ground.
Alto chuckles before he interferes.
"Darling, please calm down," he says. "You're going to hurt their spines."
Tempo finally lets go of us and smiles sheepishly and says, "Of course, you're right, dear."
Octavia and I manage to collect ourselves from the hug just as the elevator makes it to the ground floor, and we start our walk to her parents' car.



********************************************************************************************************************



The drive back home is peaceful. Tempo and Alto focus on the road while Octavia and I hold each other with our eyes closed in bliss. Eventually, we make it to my house, and I reluctantly nudge Octavia, who has fallen asleep. She recollects her thoughts and makes a small moan when she realizes that we have reached our destination, which makes me smile. I say a quick bye to Tempo and Alto before we both get out of the car and walk to my door.
"I won't sugarcoat it, Octavia," I say as we walk. "This is a night I will never forget."
"Me neither," She replies tiredly yet sweetly. "I wish it would never end."
"Eh, we could always come back next year," I say jokingly as we reach the front door. "I could learn to use the Force and mind trick them into letting us in and allow us to dance and make fun of them again. They looked like their minds can be easily tricked."
We both snicker at my joke before Octavia wraps her arms around my neck.
"Sounds like a date," She says.
I wrap my arms around her waist as we look into each other's eyes before Octavia speaks again.
"I love you, Rough Draft."
"I love you too, Octavia," I say back.
We share another deep kiss that lasts longer than the one on the dance floor. Then she walks back to the car and looks at me with a sweet smile before she goes back inside, and the car drives away. I keep looking at where the car disappears before I shake my firs in the air and scream for joy. I might have woken up some of my neighbors, but I don't care. I get inside, climb up the stairs into my room and plop onto my bed, feeling like I'm the luckiest guy alive.