Two-faced.
Disingenuous.
Fake.
How Sour Sweet had grown to despise those words.
Since the very beginning of her schooling, she had always been the farthest thing from ‘Miss Popular’. From a young age, most kids found her hard to be around because of her unique behavioral pattern. Time did little to alleviate this issue, and as the years went on, she remained virtually friendless as a result. She considered herself lucky that she had been able to test into Crystal Prep, where her skill with a bow at least meant she could earn some respect from her fellow students.
But unfortunately, even with that respect, the rumor mill was ruthless. The student body’s all seeing eyes were always looking for weak points, and once everyone knew hers, there was no question as to why she received so many wayward glances.
Today in particular had been exceedingly trying for the moody girl. She’d nearly exploded on three different people today, and lunch had only just begun. At least she had managed to rein her temper back in, but that didn’t do much to make her feel better. If anything, the fact that such an act was done by the skin of her teeth only made Sour Sweet feel worse.
Why did she have to be like this?
Walking through the lonely halls of Crystal Prep, Sour Sweet had nothing to distract herself from her own thoughts. Even with her medication, some days were worse than others, but today was one of the worst days in recent memory. She didn’t know if it was stress from all the tests scheduled, or the fact that she’d skipped breakfast, but something had her ready to go off on anyone at a moment’s notice.
And that weighed heavily on the poor girl’s psyche.
Most people knew Sour Sweet could fly off the handle at virtually anyone—even Sugarcoat, the closest thing she had to a real friend. She tried to put on a sweet face and keep a kind tone with most people, and oftentimes, she succeeded. But her control would slip, and when it did, whoever made it slip would receive her ire, as well as whatever biting comment she had at the ready.
That was her reputation within Crystal Prep. A two-faced witch who put on this sweet act, only to drop it as soon as you frustrated her.
She knew of the whispers…
“Hey, you hear she blew up on Lemon Zest earlier?”
“I’m surprised Sugarcoat and her can tolerate each other.”
“Must be exhausting pretending to be nice to everyone.”
Her footsteps quickened, as she recalled that last one. It was exhausting, but not for the reasons that everyone else assumed.
Not that they could ever know of course. She would never allow others to know of her strife; only Sugarcoat knew the truth, and even then, she’d only found out by pure accident.
No one else would get it, and if they did, they wouldn’t care.
They wouldn’t give a hoot about her struggles with her emotions. Her constant anxieties about forgetting her medication at home. Her fears about her prescription running out and having an episode before she could get it refilled.
And the fact that Sour Sweet couldn’t divulge only added to her stresses.
Everyone in this school knew of her, but because of a little something she had never opted into, everyone assumed she was lying to them. Her emotions had always run high, feelings bubbling close to the surface, and able to switch on a dime. And it always left her so drained after it was done—not merely because of the sudden shift in energy, but because of the end results.
Those mood swings were never fun, for anyone involved. And especially for her, given that it always seemed to go back and forth between two extremes: ‘sour’ and ‘sweet’.
To the outsider looking in, it seemed far too fitting, yet to Sour Sweet herself, it was the cruelest of ironies. Many had already developed their own opinions on the subject, and almost universally, the agreed upon answer was rather simple.
‘Sour’ was who she really was. ‘Sweet’ was merely a mask.
How Sour Sweet wished she could dispel that notion. Neither one was a mask, it’s just that she preferred Sweet over Sour; and who wouldn’t, when being angry is so exhausting? But at this point, it already seemed set in stone. Who would even believe her, after everything?
“Oof!”
Falling to the ground from the sudden impact, Sour Sweet felt her anger well up, boiling over faster than she could even hope to control. Before she was even aware of the words leaving her mouth, she heard them.
“Watch where you’re going, you moron! Honestly, am I the only one in this stupid school with their eyes open!?”
There was a brief quiet, before a light chuckle came from the other person.
“Well, I shan’t speak for the entire school, but at this moment, I was too distracted for my own good.”
Sour had to do a double take at that, eyes opening in sheer shock that someone didn’t respond to her hostility with anger of their own. She didn’t recognize this mysterious voice, but the mellow disposition in his tone caught her completely off guard.
Who was this person?
Opening her eyes, Sour Sweet got an answer. He was tall, standing almost an entire foot over Sour Sweet’s own 5’2, with alabaster skin, and long flowing ebon hair that perfectly contrasted the reds and purples of the Crystal Prep uniform.
Looking to Sour with a smile on his face, she could see something in his green eyes. No anger or annoyance. In fact, he seemed happy to see her.
‘Well, that’s a first…’ the moody girl lamented. ‘He must be new here.’
“Terribly sorry about that,” the young man told Sour Sweet. “I was just looking for the cafeteria. You wouldn’t happen to know where it is, would you?”
“Well, of course…” she said, her mood returning to ‘sweet’. “I could show you where it is, if you want?”
“I’d certainly appreciate it.”
And with that, Sour began leading this stranger down the hall. Most of the student body were already at the cafeteria or off campus. She was incredibly thankful for this, as it meant no one there to gawk at her, or talk behind her back.
“So, what’s your name, madam?” the mysterious boy asked.
“It’s Sour Sweet,” she said quietly, refusing to meet his gaze. “Go ahead and get the joke out of the way…”
“... What ‘joke’ are you referring to, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Sour did mind, actually, and was quick to deflect his question. “N-nevermind, don’t worry about it. What’s your name?”
The ebon-haired boy grinned. “Seraphino. I believe I saw you in history class earlier. Second period, correct?”
“Yeah with Professor High Marks,” the moody girl answered. “I didn’t notice you there. I was distracted by… something else.”
“Oh? What?”
“None of your business!”
Sour winced, especially as she turned to Seraphino and saw his face. He flinched only slightly because of the sudden shift in mood, but even that made her feel terrible. Yes, she was entitled to her privacy, but she didn’t like the idea of exploding on someone for an innocent question.
And of course, the guilt was only compounded as she heard a giggle come from behind them.
Looking past Seraphino, Sour Sweet could see an annoyingly familiar face behind her. It was Hightail, a member of the soccer team, and one of the ‘Top 10’ in the school. And as she approached, the amused grin on her face made Sour’s own contort into a scowl.
“Wow, that’s gotta be a record,” Hightail said. “Usually you give people a good two days before the mask slips.”
Seraphino raised an eyebrow at this declaration. “‘Mask’?”
“What do you want, Hightail?” Sour sneered.
“Oh nothing, just heard we got a new student,” the soccer star said innocently. “But I see I’m too late. Seems Miss Masquerade got to you first.”
Upon hearing that name, Sour felt her fists clench as hard as her body could manage. She despised that name so much. The fact that she had a derogatory nickname to begin with was bad enough, but the implications of it made her want to scream.
“I fail to see how that’s any of your concern, madam,” Seraphino deadpanned. “Our discussion has been quite amicable.”
“Yeah, that’s how it always starts,” Hightail countered, her smug smirk never leading her face. “Word to the wise, I’d stay away from her. She might sit there and pretend like she’s nice, but it’s all an act. One wrong word and she’ll rip into you like a lion ripping into a gazelle.”
“Shut up!” Sour yelled, in equal parts rage and sadness.
Any chance of making a good first impression had been washed down the drain with her first outburst. But now, Hightail was only making the situation worse for her. And the worst part of it all?
Sour Sweet knew why Hightail was doing this. Neither of them had forgotten that conversation from yesterday…
Why did she have to be like this?
“Balderdash.”
Sour looked up, seeing the annoyance plain as day on Seraphino’s face. Hightail seemed confused by this, but didn’t get any chance to voice that.
“I’ve seen nothing thus far to even remotely indicate such behavior,” the boy continued. “So I’ll ask you to take your hearsay and peddle it to someone who cares.”
Hightail’s expression turned sour in an instant. “Wow, that’s rude. I’m just looking out for you, new guy.”
“I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”
Sour watched on, stunned silent at Seraphino’s behavior, especially when she’d been screaming at him for virtually nothing. It was nice, but… why?
Hightail rolled her eyes at him. “Fine. But when she ends up biting your head off, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
And with that, the soccer player walked off, leaving the two of them alone once again. Once she was out of earshot, Seraphino let out a frustrated sigh.
“The nerve of some people,” he said, scowling until the girl finally was out of sight.
Once she was gone, though, he turned to Sour, smiling once again “Are you okay, Sour Sweet?”
“... Why’d you stand up for me?”
Seraphino didn’t respond initially, instead looking at her as though she had asked a question with the most obvious answer in the world. That only made her more embarrassed.
“Whatever do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb with me!” she exclaimed, getting up in Seraphino’s face. “You don’t know anything about me! And all that you DO know has been me yelling at you! You had NO reason to stand up for me like that!”
He took a step back, clearly surprised by Sour’s sudden burst of rage, making the girl realize what she did. As if she needed more reasons to believe he was making a mistake by helping her…
Yet despite that, he regained his composure as quickly as it was shaken. “I also had no reason not to stand up for you like that.”
His answer was said without an ounce of hesitation in his voice. It wasn’t even a very complex reasoning, yet Sour had to take a step back herself, simply because of how brazenly he told her that.
“Wh-what do you mean!?” She asked incredulously. “What, do you just let people walk all over you!?”
He shook his head. “Nothing of the sort. You just saw an example of that.”
“Well then WHAT!?”
That last word echoed through the halls, all of her frustration seeping into it. The frustration that she knew Seraphino didn’t deserve, yet she was putting on him anyway. The worst thing he had done was bump into her, and yet here she was yelling at him over something stupid, all because she couldn’t keep her temper under control…
Seraphino wasted no time answering once again. His response was quiet compared to hers, yet it shook her far more.
“Because everyone deserves a chance.”
No words came to Sour Sweet’s frazzled mind as those five little words played over and over. She found herself leaning against a nearby locker, just sort of taking that thought in.
How long had it been since she had a chance?
Almost a year, she supposed. The last new student they got was a chance for a fresh start—a chance to make a friend without her reputation causing trouble—but she ended up expending that one too. Such things did not last long when she could be so volatile.
So to know this one hadn’t been squandered yet was certainly a comfort.
“I take it that today hasn’t been a good day for you, Sour Sweet?” Seraphino asked.
“Not really…” she admitted, having calmed down enough to maintain a more neutral tone.
“Well, let us rectify that, shall we?”
Without another word, the ivory-skinned boy pulled out his phone, sending a couple of texts back and forth with someone. A pit of unease formed in Sour Sweet’s stomach, wondering who exactly he was texting.
‘Maybe he’s looking for an excuse to get out of here…’ the little cynic in her mind told her. ‘Maybe he just said that to be nice?’
The final ding was accompanied by a nod, and Seraphino immediately veered left, past Sour Sweet.
“I just remembered I can go off-campus for the lunch hour, and thus, I’ll be meeting a friend outside of the school,” he explained.
Sour Sweet sighed. Just as she feared…
“So, I guess this is where we part ways?” she asked, trying to hide how defeated she felt at that.
“Actually, no. If you wish to join us, then I would certainly not be opposed to it.”
Sour Sweet blinked. Did she just hear him correctly?
“You’d… want me to meet your friend?”
“I don’t see why not.”
Once again, Sour had no words. Some part of her felt like Seraphino was being too nice here - that he would get burned for these actions when he finally did something that made her snap, or when his patience wore thin with her attitude problems. That just like every interaction here besides Sugarcoat, she’d end up mucking it up, and adding him to the list of people who have a problem with her.
And yet, Seraphino’s words stuck with her. Why not, indeed?
Call it impulse, or recklessness, or courage, but Sour Sweet found whatever it was. And with an apprehensive shrug, she agreed, following close.
She did not know how this might end, but having this kind of chance was always nice.
A chance to show someone the real Sour Sweet.