The Crystal Heart Formal

by AppleJTZ

What’s the difference between a gala/ball/party/whatever anyway?

Standing on the side of the dance floor, Sour leaned against a pillar. Arms crossed her lips were forming a pout while she looked for her next target. In the middle of the hall, a tall, muscular student was standing. He was probably part of the wrestling team (if Crystal Prep had one), for his arms were toned and defined, with a torso and legs to match.

“Perfect!” Sour said, her pout turning into a smile. That last guy probably knew she was WAY out of her league anyway. This one was more on her level. Her expression softened, again mimicking the look of an innocent little girl. With the same girly skip as before she approached the hunk. Her arms wrapped themselves around his biceps, causing him to look rather surprised at the sweetly smiling Sour.

“Hi there big guy!” she chirped, tracing along the definition of his muscles with a finger. “My, you look really buff – bet you’re working out. I like guys who stay in shape♥”

He smiled. “Hey, thanks! You’re into body-building too?”

Not expecting that kind of reply, Sour quickly shook her head. “Oh no, no, I could never do that kind of stuff – I’m way too fragile and small for something so masculine!” She tried to sound as feminine as possible, gently stroking his biceps.

His face turned up in disappointment. “Aw, too bad…”

“Hey, I’m into bodybuilding!” Another boy came up behind them, also looking rather muscular. “Didn’t know there was someone else in this school who was.”

Excited the boy turned his head. “Sweet!” Sour felt his arm slipping out of her grip. “What weights do you use?”

“Ten kilos, but I’m thinking about going up to twelve. What do you do for leg day?”

As the two boys walked off talking about fitness machines and body-building technics, Sour casted a not very cute look after them.

Calming herself down, her eyes scanned the hall again. Near the banquet, she saw a tall boy wearing shades standing by himself, with a cup of punch in his hand. Holding a fist in front of her face she cleared her throat, before bouncing with a big smile in his direction.

He seemed to pay no attention to her, even as she stood right next to him. With the tip of her finger, she delicately touched his shoulder. As he turned to her she put on the most adorable look she was able to muster. “Excuse me, but I’m all alone here at this party. Would you mind keeping an eye out for poor little me?” She folded her hands, leaning her cheek against it while fluttering her eye-lashes at him.

Staring at her through his shades, the boy cocked his head. “Look out for you? Is someone after you?” Quickly he looked left and right, scanning the area.

Sour blinked. “Um, no I just-”

“Is it that guy?” he asked, pointing at some random dude on the other side of the hall. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him!” Before Sour could stop him he dashed away. From afar, she watched him stop in front of the other guy, yelling at him. Confused at first, he eventually shouted back. After shouting at each other for a while however both seemed to calm down. Suddenly, the two of them shook their hands. Next, she could see them talking and laughing, the boy with the shades apparently having forgotten about her.

Unconsciously, she had clenched her hands into fists. Instead of letting her anger out however she cooled down once more. She then noticed a spoon that was lying on the banquet table. Quickly she snatched it as if it was some kind of treasure. Standing by the banquet, she waited with the spoon in her hand. As a boy was about to walk past her, she let go of the spoon in front of him.

“Oh no!” she gasped as the spoon landed on the floor. “I dropped my spoon! Is there no knight in shining armor to pick it up for me?”

The guy turned his head around, first looking at the spoon at his feet, then at Sour. “Er… I think you can just pick that up yourself. Don’t want to be rude, but I don’t wanna get any germs from you.“ Turning around he walked away.

Casting a dark glance after him Sour kicked the spoon into the air. “There are no gentlemen left in this world” she mumbled while grabbing the spoon in the air.

---

A frown on her face Indigo stomped through the hall. “Calling me cute” she mumbled. Her cheeks still red from anger she looked out for her second first date. Underneath a slightly ramped up banner, she caught sight of a boy on his own. He seemed a bit insecure, tapping with his fingers on the cup in his hands, while nervously looking around the gym.

“The shy type, huh?” Indigo whispered to herself. “Perfect!”

With the same confidence as before, she slowly approached him. He didn’t seem to take notice of Indigo at first. Only when she was standing right in front of him, one hand on her hip, the other one leisurely hanging at her side, he cast a nervous glance at the resolute teenage girl. “You got five seconds to ask me out” Indigo said firmly.

The cheeky grin on her face made the boy freeze. More than five seconds passed without him replying. Standing there in her pose, Indigo was beginning to feel uncomfortable as well. However, as showing insecurity was not really something a femme fatale would do, she played down her doubts by coughing into her fist. “Well, you game or not?” she asked.

Eventually, the boy opened his mouth. “Um.. d-do you mean… Mon-n-nopoly?”

Confused, Indigo furrowed her eye-brows. “What?”

“O-or a game of cards? Or chess? Ch-checkers?” He helplessly looked at her. “I… I am not sure what I should ask you out for…”

Indigo was about to yell “To a dance you doofus” in his face. Before she could open her mouth however, she could hear a voice behind her.

“Excuse me, but are you into board games?” Turning her head, she saw another boy standing there. Instead of addressing her however, he was looking at the guy she had tried to hit on.

“Um, kind of” he replied.

The other boy was getting excited. “Are you interested in forming a board game club at school? We are short of one member to reach the necessary minimum.”

Relaxing, the boy nodded. “S-sure!”

“Great!” With a smile, he took him by the shoulder. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to the other members! Well, future members.”

Walking away, the two game fans left Indigo behind. She snorted, but forced down her anger again as she spotted another boy standing by himself near the wall with his back towards her. He watched the people on the dance floor, whose number had steadily increased during the night, while calmly eating a sandwich.

Suddenly, he could feel himself being grabbed by the shoulder, and was forcefully pulled backwards. Before he could react, Indigo had him pinned against the wall, one hand next to his face with her gin just hovering in front of him. “Ready for the time of your life, nerd?” she asked.

After chewing for a moment, the boy gulped down his sandwich. “Um, sorry, but I’ll pass.” Swiftly, he ducked under Indigo’s arm. Jumping to the side he dashed away, to another corner of the hall.

Taken by surprise, Indigo stared at the wall for a moment. With a sigh, she turned around, and began her search anew. On the other side of the hall, there was a guy with freckles and braces. Not really her first choice, but she guessed she was past that point anyway. Swallowing her growing frustration, she marched straight at him. Her strut wasn’t quite as enticing as before, but more of a hectic one. Arriving upon her target, she didn’t even wait until he noticed her to speak in a dominant manner to him. “Hey there! You. Me. The Dance Floor. Sounds like a good deal, right?”

Startled, the boy turned towards her. “S-sorry, but I’m not a good dancer-”

“That’s okay – I’ll lead!” Grabbing his wrist Indigo spun him around. As she let go however he stumbled away from her, right on the dance floor. Like a twister he turned around himself, yelling while dizzily moving through the gym. Eventually he collided with the wall on the other side, falling on his butt.

Watching him crash Indigo flinched. Well, she did perform a dance move with him. Maybe that counted?

As he was sitting there rubbing his head, a girl approached him. A smile on her face she held out her hand, which he gladly took as she helped him back up.

Indigo slouched her shoulders. No, she thought, throwing a guy into another girl’s arms definitely didn’t count.

---

While Sour and Indigo had trouble getting a hold on the dance floor, Sugarcoat was having a hard time escaping it: Without a break, guys kept asking her for a dance, which she would always accept. Not a single time she smiled during her time with them, but she also didn’t frown or show any other signs of discomfort. With the same stoic, neutral expression she let herself being led by boy after boy, not saying a word as they danced through the hall. Exactly after five silent minutes with each of them however, Sugarcoat would open her mouth and speak:

“Your hands are sweaty, your breath smells like onions and you keep stepping on my feet.”

“You are talking nonstop about barely interesting subjects and don’t move to the beat.”

“Your glasses keep sliding off your nose. It’s irritating me.”

“You’re pulling me too hard.”

“You are unnaturally pale.”

“You’re boring.”

“Your hair is terrible, the colour of your clothes bite and the way you raise your voice at the end of each sentence makes you sound like a snob.” She considered for a moment. “Okay, maybe that was a little harsh. But seriously: Your hair is a mess.”

Though the exact reaction differed between her partners, some being angry while others were ashamed, this would cause all of them to slowly step away from her, making way for the next Romeo. Some of the rejected ones banded together and comforted each other, while others went to talk their frustration out on a friend.

Her fingers tapping on her elbow Sunny watched Sugarcoat with crossed arms. The lavender-haired girl’s mouth was upside-down, her eyebrows furrowed, and with each guy that walked away from Sugarcoat the look of anger on her face intensified. Fixed on Sugarcoat, she didn’t notice another girl stumbling in her direction. Only when she bumped against her shoulder she took a glance to the side – and was quite surprised to see Lemon with her head wrapped into what looked like a piece of purple cloth standing next to her. “Lemon? What happened to you?” Sunny asked.

It took a moment for Lemon to turn into Sunny’s direction. Her voice muffled by the fabric, she began to babble an incomprehensible explanation. With a sigh, Sunny grabbed one end of the cloth, and carefully began to unwrap it. As she did, she realized it was a part of a Crystal Prep banner.

The moment Lemon was freed she took in a deep breath. “Thanks” she wheezed. With both hands she grabbed the fabric still wrapped around her neck, and tossed it over her head. “So yeah, long story short: I tried to keep those punks from messing up the banner, but ended up ripping a piece out by myself. Aaaand wrapped it around my head.”

Sunny rolled her eyes. “I’m not even gonna ask how you managed that feat.”

A sheepish look on her face, Lemon rubbed her head. She noticed however Sunny wasn’t looking at her anymore, but glared at something else. “Hey there, what’s that face for?”

Sunny snorted. “It’s Sugarcoat – that girl is driving me crazy! All I try is to get her a date, but she just keeps rejecting everyone. At this rate, she’s gonna run out of boys!”

Lemon followed Sunny’s gaze, watching Sugarcoat reject her next dance partner, before looking back at Sunny. “What about you? Doesn’t Miss Fancy have a date herself?”

Sunny flinched. “Um…” Her eyes nervously moved around, when they lay sight upon something. “Hey, is there someone trying to climb the sound machine?”

“Wha- HEY, CUT IT OUT!! I nearly broke my back getting that in here!!”

Turning on the spot Lemon dashed towards the stage. The rock fan rammed her shoulders against anyone in her path, pushing students aside without caring for the scowls she earned. However, her charge eventually came to a halt as she tried to squeeze herself through a group of people. Trying to move faster than the limited space would allow she tripped over someone’s foot, and before she knew it found herself once again gliding on her belly over the floor. As she stopped, the tip of a very sharp high-heel was right in front of her nose. The shoe and the light blue skin of the one wearing it seemed familiar. As she raised her gaze past a very conservative skirt, she found herself staring into a stern, strict pair of eyes that gazed down on her through a pair of glasses.

Lemon gulped. “P-Principal Cinch!” Quickly she got back up on her feet. The headmaster of the school was sitting on a chair, surrounded by the other teachers and parents who supervised the students. “So, um, how do ya like the party?” Lemon asked, forcing a very fake smile on her face.

With the same serious and fun-denying expression as always, the principal scoffed. “Considering it’s an utter waste of time, I guess it is a rather enjoyable gala” she remarked.

Lemon had to bite her tongue not to yell “PARTY” into her face. “That’s great!” the teenager said, though she was not even sure if a compliment from the most stuck-up person of the world was really worth anything. Seeking to keep this conversation short, Lemon took a step back. “So, yeah, I’ll be back and, er partying.”

Luckily, the principal didn’t seem interested in talking to her any longer either, as she simply scoffed again and turned away. Lemon was about to dash off, when she saw who was sitting next to the principal.

“Oh, hello Lemon.” Dean Cadence smiled at her. “Enjoying the night?

Frustrated Lemon sighed. “I’m trying, but I just keep going after people who mess stuff up.” She looked a little confused at the dean. “Why aren’t you doing anything? I thought you and the rest of the adults are here to make sure everything stays civil and clean.”

The dean nodded. “Technically, that’s true. But it’s more of our duty to make sure things don’t go out of hand between boys and girls.” She glanced at the principal, who wasn’t taking notice of their conversation, and leaned a little closer to Lemon. “Also, I talked with the other teachers and parents, and we all agreed not to be too strict” she whispered, shielding her mouth with her hand. “The school receives a lot of government funding, so we can spare a few broken tables and reparations to the hall.”

Tilting her head Lemon looked at the stern figure behind the dean. “What about Cinch?” she asked in a low voice.

The dean winked. “I might have been distracting her a little with school politics throughout the night.” She straightened herself again. “If you want to make sure everything stays intact though, go ahead – it’s your party, after all.”

A blush on her face, Lemon smiled. “Thanks.” Turning around she went back to the dance floor, unsure what to do next. A moment later however, she returned. “Also thanks for calling it a party.”

As she left again, the dean giggled into her hand.

Comments

[ShadowLDrago]

“Ten kilos, but I’m thinking about going up to twelve. What do you do for leg day?”

Damn...

Casting a dark glance after him Sour kicked the spoon into the air. “There are no gentlemen left in this world” she mumbled while grabbing the spoon in the air.

Sure, let's go with that.

“O-or a game of cards? Or chess? Ch-checkers?” He helplessly looked at her. “I… I am not sure what I should ask you out for…”

Wow...

[Regreme]

lol Another good chapter, as usual.^^

[Random User 22]

Huh I just noticed: While things aren't turning the way Sour or Indigo wanted they are helping all the boys they are talking to make friends.

[CSC]

Oh my god!

Still, things haven't become a total disaster..........yet.

[Godslittleprincess]

[BenRG]

There is an important lesson for Sunny Flare here: Being a busybody with others' love-life is a sure-fire way to ensure that you have none of your own!