Work Text:
As the final results pour in, a table at the back of Gino's erupt in cheers.
"S-sunny, you won!" Basil grips his best friend's shoulder with a big smile on his face. Sunny looks down at his phone, blush on his cheeks, and a grin so small no one but his closest friends could perceive.
"Darn right he did! Sunny swe--!" As Kel jumps out of his seat, a loud bang sounds under the table. The overexcited boy hisses in response. "Ow."
Aubrey snickers at him. "Idiot."
"Hey, at least I didn't lose any of mine. Honestly, I thought you'd be more angry. What gives?"
"Look, I just have more important stuff to care about." She jabs Kel in the shoulder, trying not to glance at the smug expression Basil has been making. "Besides, just wait until Basil kicks your ass."
Kel opens his mouth, only to lock eyes with Basil. Silently glaring at each other.
"Hey, Sunny."
Sunny looks up at her, a single black eye full of life meeting her own. Her breath catches.
"Um, good job or whatever."
Sunny's grin widens.
"t-thank you."
Aubrey, trying her best not to explode, excuses herself to use the restroom. She can feel Basil's smug expression boring holes into her from behind.
When she comes up to the restroom, out of sight of everyone, Aubrey doesn't go in. She stands a bit to the side, near an open supply closet shrouded in darkness. A figure emerges from it.
"Hey, Kim."
She nods. "So? Do they suspect anything or what?"
"Nah, don't think so." She decides to leave out Basil. Just because he's being a smug little shit doesn't mean he knows about her plan. Probably. "Did you have to get rough?"
Kim shrugs. "Pretty much everyone did what we said when we rolled out the secret weapon."
Aubrey winces a bit. As mean as she might have been in the past, listening to Mikhail dramatically explain obscure Sweetheart lore for hours isn't something she would force on the unprepared. At least he liked it, she guesses.
"Dang." Slience falls, and Aubrey looks to the side. "Well, thanks for helping Sunny, and stuff."
"Don't worry about it, girl. We're best friends; we'd do anything for each other." Kim raises her eyebrows. "Like, say, helping me spraypaint the administration building at school tonight?"
Aubrey grins at her. "Wouldn't miss it."
"You better not. I'll be seeing you soon." Kim steps back into the shadows, and it's as if she was never there at all.
The pinkette stares into the closet.
"You just gonna stay in there, or . . . ?"
The shadows grumble. "I'm tryin' to be dramatic."
Aubrey turns around, rolling her eyes. "Dork."
"Oh, piss off. Go smooch your boyfriend or something."
If Aubrey turns back around at this moment, her face at maximum blush, she would never hear the end of it. She grumbles a denial and leaves to rejoin her friends.