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“What do you mean Nerissa denied going to the dance with you!?” Wendy was pissed, they tried so hard to find the right type of roses and get the best moment and she just straight denied him! “Even if she didn’t accept the confession, she did say that she heard rumors about Sam.” Is Mark being serious?! He is giving up that easily on her despite having barely started. “Honestly, probably for the best since she is a siren and all.” Rev was twiddling with his grimoire lamely. “Considering what people say about her, she was most likely going to eat you right after the dance.”
Mark’s jaw dropped to the floor. “What! Nerissa would never, she is super nice to everyone.” Wendy hadn’t thought of Nerissa eating Mark, not because she thinks it's impossible; Nerissa’s whole personality was obviously a sham; but because of the result of what would happen if she did. Kincaid’s office is the last place anyone would want to be. A certain gloom always seemed to be present at the doorway. Wendy scoffed thinking about the biased principle and her unfair treatment.
“Though Sam seems out of left field.” Wendy decided to get them back on track, the whole reason they were here. “I mean, I have interacted with her a few times.” Mark tried to give some context, but it still seemed a bit weird on why Sam had any interest in Mark. “I do not plan on helping this time.” Rev started to walk off, however Wendy was not going to let him just walk away.
Wendy yanked the back of his shirt’s collar causing his feet to fly off the ground. “Who said you could leave? You are helping whether you like it or not.” Wendy shot her arm out to catch him before he fell… however that caused them to be really close, especially with her carrying him. A silence drowned out time, Wendy had no idea how long they had been like that, neither of them had moved. But she began to panic and dropped him. A thud hit the ground and a long groan emitted from it as well.
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Rev was reluctant to help out. Of course there are many reasons, first off being that this is Mark they were talking about. He could do the social interaction part on his own, it did not make sense on why they needed to be there to guide his baby steps.
Next is that with him being forced to interact with Mark, the more his head hurt. Even a nail driven straight through his brain would not be able to stop the burning pain.
Lastly each time he saw Mark talk with Wendy, a weird pang in his chest would shoot out and it kinda hurt. Similar to that heart feeling that his parents talked about, but painful rather than blissful.
He picked himself up and followed along with the other two. Rev overheard them talking about strange romance stuff that he couldn’t wrap his head around entirely. All of this to go to the dance with someone else, when all said and done it is irrelevant. Why does this matter so much to them? Everyone wants to go to this stupid dance, either with their partner or friends. Getting invited to the dance was the worst part, because going without having someone with you is entirely pointless. Not like he was planning on going to the dance, in fact there would be such a small reason to, even if he was invited.
A pit formed in his stomach, his steps slowed to a near halt as he looked ahead. Wendy was discussing a plan with Mark while ripping random flowers out of pots to add to their ‘bouquet.’ It would have gotten a chuckle out of him if that pit hadn’t pulled his breath into it. That same pain from before panged in his head. Before he could figure out what it was, he heard his name called out. “Rev, c’mon dude!” The vampire was waving his arms obnoxiously exaggerated trying to get his attention.
He swallowed a breath and jogged over to them. “Since I am trying to get a date to the dance, I thought I’d ask, are you guys going to the dance?” Mark brought it up so nonchalantly, with a forced casualness, “If I get asked I definitely would. Especially since you just told me about it.” Wendy turned to Rev expectantly, her eyebrows slightly raised. What did she want him to say? Did she expect him to say something about this?
He looked at her, then to the vampire. “Most likely not.” He subconsciously turned to Wendy, who had a completely straight face. “WHAT!? Dude you should totally go!” Mark jumped up before grabbing Rev’s shoulders, which he did not appreciate.
He shoved Mark’s hands off his shoulder and reclaimed a bit of distance, “Why would I go to a dance? If anything, that is the perfect chance to break out.” Rev’s eyes naturally fell onto Wendy, seeking some type of expression though he did not know what. The wendigo had a very slight frown that Rev was barely able to notice before turning back to Mark. He felt sweat shoot like bullets down the sides of his head, yet he did not know why. “I am kidding… I won’t actually try to break out.” Why did it feel like he was getting scolded, he was trying to do that since day one and this is the first time it felt like that.
“Guys, there she is!” Mark stopped so abruptly that both the revenant and wendigo bumped into him. Despite that, he stood completely steady, seemingly immune to the force that should have pushed him.
Surprisingly, she was at the library. Sam, unsurprisingly, rather than studying was just… eating the books? Behind her was Flynn attempting to pull her away from the shelves, huge emphasis on attempt as she was easily overpowering the phantom. Rev turned to Mark, “So, how are you going to ask her to the dance like this, maybe it could wait for later. Preferably without me involved.” The vampire turned to the group and took a breath. “Sooo… We might need to get her something to eat, could you guys get something from the cafeteria?”
“Alright, we gotcha!” Wendy grabbed the back of Rev’s uniform and dragged him with him flailing trying to break her unnervingly strong grip. “AHHHH LET ME GOO!”
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The cafeteria was closed. A comically sized lock and chains was wrapped around the door handle with strange inscriptions written onto it. Rev and Wendy both blankly stared at it, before turning to each other. Wendy was completely unsure of what to do. Breaking the chain would do something bad with the spell engraved so they needed some way to disarm it. She began looking around, hoping that at least one person dumb enough to follow any orders were to be nearby.
“I got it!” Wendy knew exactly who to ask. “What are you thinking? I am not going to touch those damn chains if you want me to help.” Rev was keeping a wary amount of distance from the door. She calmly walked down the hall till she walked in front of him. “Hey Akuma, we need your help.” The red oni was walking by absent mindily, but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard his name.
“Sup bro? What is it ya need?” Out of all the students that pop-up semi consistently in her classes, Akuma is quite easily the dumbest one. Despite that, he has quite a reputation for being a generally helpful person. “We are trying to get food for Sam and we need help breaking into the cafeteria.” She semiwhispered it, hoping no teachers could hear her if any were nearby. Leading him over to the chain, he stared at them for a few moments… until, “You’re pretty strong Wendy, why can’t you just break it open?” His eyes had narrowed, growing in color, staring at her as if she was a criminal.
However before she could respond, his eyes lost whatever soul they had just gained and he immediately ripped apart the chains. “Well, there we go, glad to he-” Before he finished, his body morphed and forced in on himself and a slow croak erupts out from a dark red frog. Wendy and Rev made eye contact, then bolted inside. While Rev hopped over the counter, Wendy barricaded the door. She tossed a cafeteria table against the door before following Zombie Boy into the kitchen. When she entered, only one spot had been searched, with the freezer door wide open. She peered in behind him and started looking around with him. Unfortunately it was incredibly cramped. “HEY WENDIGO, GET OUT YOU ARE TAKING UP ALL THE SPACE.” He shoved her with his back, oh was he going to get it now.
“THEN HOW ABOUT YOU MOVE AROUND, HUH? SHOULDN’T BE TOO HARD!” Rather than doing what they had planned, Wendy punched him in the back of the head. Rev acted in turn by casting a spell with his spellbook. This caused a multitude of produce and meat products to fly off the shelves and fall on top of her. This caused Rev to chuckle, before breaking out into a full laugh. With each ‘ha’ that erupted the more pissed that Wendy felt, or at least until she pushed some vegetables off her face.
Rev was keeling over, his smile was from ear to ear, devoid of any of the usual malice. His smile was contagious, as it began to plague her face as she also began laughing along with him. “Hahaha why are you laughing!?” Between gasps for air due to laughing so hard. Seeing him this happy was warming to the heart. “Well, this is the first time I have seen you smile.”
His laugh immediately died out… Did she just ruin the moment? She probably should not have pointed it out. Of course he would get self-conscious about it.
“I… guess you are right…” Wendy looked to Rev after his response. While his face did go stoic, there was still that happy feeling in the air. She stood up, dusted herself off of any and all ingredients and tried to find the raw… mystery meat.
Each shelf was labeled with a different type of food, some being types of meats, vegetables and other such things. Despite the shelves being a bit lackluster; well maybe because a chunk of the food is on the ground now; it is still strange to navigate. Some of the treats on the shelves were things that Wendy has never even heard of. What even is Picklemilk beef?
Wendy searched for the shelf full of… meat. She searched for what felt like hours, but then a quick “AHA!” behind, where she turned and Rev pulled out an entire arm which should hopefully work. Rev and her walked out of the freezer with the objective completed, and got to the door before they heard the unsettlingly calm voice of the potions teacher. “This is common knowledge, and you must live out the rest of your punishment, detention and 24 hours as a frog.” Baba Yaga grabbed the froggified Akuma with her staff and walked off towards her class. Many croaks and ribbits kept echoing down the hall, growing louder with more and more panic.
The further the echo, the harder it was to stifle the laugh, but if they were caught they would be done for. While she was waiting for the coast to be clear, a cold hand grabbed hers. At first a small tug, then a full pull shortly after. Her feet moved ahead of her brain, forced to be quickly moving in the halls. Despite its coldness, Wendy could see the warmth in his cheeks.
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Mark watched as they ran off to go get the food. He approached his partners in crime… well not really crime, more like… cupid. “Oh Mark! Could you help me with Sam, she had been waiting to eat… nevermind, just she hasn’t eaten in a few hours and she is attacking the books!” Flynn was not known for being physically fit, especially since he fazes through a majority of things. However his vampire strength should help save the books. At least that is what he thought until he grabbed Sam by the arm.
SHE WAS INCREDIBLY STRONG. Mark pulled with all his might and she did not budge an inch. “Sera, please help me!” However, no help came… thinking of it Sera had been quiet for a while. Since they departed from the roof and right before he ‘confessed’ to Nerissa, she hadn’t said a word. Without the super strong guardian angel to help him and being the only one doing anything; for as much credit he wanted to give to Flynn for trying… he wasn’t helping all that much.
Mark had to wrap his entire arms around her stomach and began pulling back as much as possible before she would even move. With that she stopped running at the books, and with a deep breath Mark was fina- OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWwwwwww. He immediately looked to see Sam with HIS ARM IN HER MOUTH. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
His scream must have pierced the sound barrier as anyone in the library covered their ears. Additionally he saw Flynn go silent and began to fade through the floor. Mark tried to yank his arm out of her mouth, but the zombie’s teeth just tore through his skin and her grip was so strong that his arm didn’t even move. With each time she chewed, a new blossom of PAIN; SO MUCH PAIN; bloomed through his entire body. He was beginning to panic as he had no idea what to do. The last time she had bit someone they turned into a zombie and then an apocalypse began!
But the more he waited for something to sting and burn then turn into a zombie… or however it would feel, nothing did. Mark looked at his arm, other than ginormous bite marks and Sam still biting his arm he was still normal. “Hey… I’m not turning into a zombie!” He could just jump for joy, which he did and he felt his arm be pulled down faster than the rest of his body. Speaking of his arm, he stopped feeling that stinging pain in it, he turned towards Sam and she had stopped chewing. The zombie was clenching on to his arm, but no longer consistently biting, she stared at Mark with big eyes.
“Wha- What?” Mark had no idea how to respond, her gaze was powerful, especially for… her umm… kind? No that sounds really bad, uhh what about people? No, that also sounds bad. Despite her zombie nature… that's a lot better, Mark hoped. “Thanks for distracting me.” Sam let his arm out of her mouth with a line of blood mixed with saliva…
Ew.
“Ah, it's no problem, we don’t want you getting in trouble for destroying school property.” Mark said with a smile as he attempted to wipe off the drool on a nearby table. However his arm was grabbed by Sam and she wrapped it around her into a hug. WHAT WAS GOING ONNNNNN!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
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Rev was not trying to get turned into a frog and as he kept running he felt his arm being held back. He peered back and saw Wendy with a bright grin, which made his chest sting again. He ignored it as he realized he subconsciously grabbed Wendy… or at least that is what he was trying to believe. Either way when the two monster students got back to the library they saw it.
Mark with one of his arms painted bloody red with a large bite in his skin and his other both wrapped around the zombie girl who had in turn grappled him into a hug. Admittedly, Mark was definitely in some type of shock as his jaw was hitting the ground and shattering it. In the corner of his eye he saw Wendy stomp and toss the arm at the two. Rev turned towards Wendy, “We wasted all that time to get the stupid arm, and yet he has already dealt with it.” Wendy sat down after tossing the arm, crossing her legs while the two of them clogged up the entrance to the library. “Does that mean he got his date to the dance? I want to go back to my dorm room.”
Rev looked towards Wendy with a smirk, expecting some sly smirk back or something… but there wasn’t. She was blankly staring at the pairing in a gridlock hug. Her eyes were locked onto the two, with a light gleaming in them. Her posture relaxed and that smug smile Rev expected to be at him was faced towards the two. It was more tamed, yet still proud even if it was not the same reason it usually was.
He couldn’t understand what made her smile, looked between the two undead idiots, with Mark attempting to break out and Sam mumbling something. Why was it so difficult for him to understand the same thing she could. If out of all people in the entire school, Wendy Indigo could get it, why couldn’t he? Then it came back, the forefront of his issues, the cold undead heart in his chest, it didn't beat, it only took up space. Something so damn simple was impossible for him to understand… And her smile truly put it into perspective.
Rev once again looked down at her, her stupid face with a pathetic smile… but at least she was happy, Rev felt… nothing. He tried to walk back to his room as he began to feel something bubble in his throat. Until he felt a claw wrap around his leg, with a swift “Curious how bad this goes?” Rev felt the bubbling subside, at least for now. “What do you mean?” Wendy rolled her eyes, just staring at him with a bored glare. After seconds of Rev not responding, Wendy sighed, got up and pulled him to the side. “How about we go to the dance together, just to see how those two go? Plus we are going to the human world on a field trip pretty soon, we can get some fancy clothes there.” Without a beat, Rev said “Would anything even fit you?”
As quick as the wind in a hurricane, he felt a hit to the back of the head which sent him across the floor. It was deserved, but didn’t change the fact that it hurt like hell. “Just because you said that, I am forcing you to get clothes with me.” Even if on the outside Rev was annoyed, deep down his proclaimed ‘cold-dead’ heart, beat a little faster than before.