Chapter Text
"That's her. That's Mary." The boy, Dante, pointed to one of the female students.
His twin brother, Vergil, looked between the girl and back to his sibling who seemed to be in awe of the short-haired girl. "And this is who you like?"
Dante placed a hand under his chin and sighed deeply. "Yep!"
"Well, then go ask her out", Vergil said nonchalantly. Dante's eyes widened at the thought.
"Ask her out?! No, no no!" He smirks. "I must make her swoon. I must treat her as the lady she is, and slowly make her realize I am the one for her, and she for me. Like a slow-burn but not too slow 'cause we're seniors so we must be prom king and queen so she can be treated as royalty like the princess she is. Plus, imagine how romantic that is."
Vergil rolled his eyes, completely annoyed over Dante's rant. Such a foolish man.
"You need to quit watching so many romance animes."
Dante glared at him. "I think you need to trust the process. Watch this."
"What are yo-" and before he could ask, Dante was already approaching Mary with a determined look on his face. He watched as Dante slid up to her and tried to lean against the wall as if he was cool.
Dante put a bright smile on his face as he leaned against the wall. Mary was talking with her friend, Trish. They both stared at Dante, unsure of his next move. He looked at Mary and confidently threw a pickup line her way.
"Hey lady, do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by again?"
Mary crossed her arms and pointed down at Dante's feet. "Your shoes are untied."
"Oh, really?"
Vergil watched as Dante leaned down to "tie" his shoes and Mary and Trish swiftly exited the room. He had to hold in a laugh.
Dante, unaware, looked up to see them gone. He placed a hand on his neck as he got back up.
Vergil elbowed him. "So, I see your plan is working", he said sarcastically, "Also you don't have shoelaces, idiot, your shoes are velcro."
Dante shrugged. "I forgot, but that plan totally worked! She talked to me. I think that's like the first time she's acknowledged my existence. JACKPOT!" He pumped his fists in the air.
"Just you watch, Vergil. She's gonna fall in love with me."
---
Multiple weeks passed full of failed attempts.
Dante had placed a rose on her desk, she threw it away.
Dante placed a teddy bear on her desk, she gave it away to a little kid.
Dante would try to pass notes to her in class, but she either ignored them or passed them to some other student in class, which led to some awkward situations as they thought the notes were for them.
Dante never said it, but Vergil could tell he was losing hope. Rejection stung, he was sure. Dante wasn't a quitter, but he also didn't want to bother Mary to such a great extent, though he probably already had.
And finally, Dante showed up with one last attempt.
"I am going to ask her to the prom dance and if she says no, then I'll leave her alone. For good", he adds a little somber.
Vergil tilted his head at what Dante was holding. "And you think pizza is going to win her over?"
Dante smiled as he held up a pizza box, he learned through Trish what Mary's favorite kind of pizza was. Trish actually quite liked Dante and thought he and Mary would be a cute couple, but she wouldn't tell Mary that.
"Pizza makes me happy, so I figured it would make her happy too." He took a deep breath.
"Okay, wish me luck!"
Vergil watched him walk towards Mary's desk. Though he wasn't a romantic nor cared for such trivial things, he still had a slight twinge of hope for Dante. He did want him to succeed. Despite how annoying he was, he was still his brother.
Dante placed down the pizza box gently and sat in his seat, two seats behind hers. He tapped his foot against the floor waiting for her. And, finally, she entered the classroom. Her eyes immediately noticed the new item on her desk and she knew who it was from. She looked at Dante, who just flashed her the biggest smile.
She sat in her chair and opened the box.
Dante leaned in, biting his lip in anticipation.
Mary opened the box and was surprised. Not only did it smell delicious and was in fact her favorite kind of pizza, but there were also words scribbled on the box. The first thing she noticed was a scribble that Dante must have drawn. It was of him with a crown on his head and he was holding out a rose, though his drawing skills could use a lot of work.
She held in a giggle. Luckily, she sat in front of him, so he couldn't see her smile, slight as it was.
He was a dork and could be annoying at times, but he obviously cared for her. He always tried to bring her a snack for lunch and would make sure she never walked to the bus alone, even if they just walked in silence.
And, though she hated to admit it, he was kinda cute. He had roughish charm, but Mary hated having such feelings. She always tried to just focus on her studies, so she could do good in college and succeed beyond that. She doesn't have time for a boyfriend, but maybe...things won't be so bad.
And as she read the words on the box, she wanted to roll her eyes again.
Here's what was written:
I know this is cheesy, but wanna pizza this and go to prom together?
It was absolutely cringey, but oddly enough, she liked it.
Just as she finished reading, Trish walked in. "Whatcha looking at?"
She peered over Mary and took a peek before Mary could close the box.
She giggled and covered a hand over her mouth. Dante had come to her with personal questions about Mary. Her likes, dislikes, hobbies. He really was head over heels, but she wasn't expecting this for a prom proposal.
"How silly", she muttered.
Mary pouted at her with a blush rising to her cheeks.
"It's actually.....kinda sweet."
Trish's eyes widened and she gasped.
Quiet enough so the crazy-in-love boy behind them wouldn't hear, she said "Ooooh you like him, don't you?"
Mary seemed appalled at such a suggestion.
"Whaa? I....me?"
Trish nodded. "Oh yeah. You definitely have a crush. A crush on Dante."
Mary stood up abruptly, pushing her chair back.
"I do not like Dante! Nope. Not at all! And I lied. This pizza box idea is the dumbest thing I've ever seen."
She didn't mean to say that out loud, but her fiery temper got the better of her.
"Ouch." And Mary immediately felt the sting of regret as she turned around to face Dante, who looked...hurt.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"
He stood up and shook his head.
"Don't be. I've been pestering you all semester. I should've taken the hint when you made it clear -more than once. I'll stop bothering you now."
And with that he grabbed his things and walked out.
Mary sank into her seat in silence.
Trish sat next to her.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten you all flustered."
"It wasn't your fault, Trish. I shouldn't have said those things because....youre right. I do like him. Now, he probably thinks I hate him completely."
Trish tapped her fingers on the desk.
"Well, then you're just gonna have to prove him wrong, aren't you?"
She smiled.
"Yeah, I guess. I'm just not sure how."
"He's put on quite a show these past few weeks trying to impress you. I think you need to go on his level. You know, make it flashy!"
She wriggled her fingers back and forth and waved both hands to emphasize her point.
"Nuh-uh. No way. I can't act like him!"
***
So, here Mary was the next day with her plan. Dante kept his word and didn't even spare one glance her way the rest of the day yesterday. Luckily, he was here today.
She waited until lunch time to proceed with her plan. She spotted him, smiling with his friends. She took in a long breath.
"Here we go."
She unzipped her jacket and threw it down on her seat as she grabbed the box she had ordered just recently. Mary wasn't one to stand out in a crowd. She hated being the center of attention, so the students noticing her as she made her way to Dante was a bit overwhelming, but she could get over it. He hadn't spotted her yet, but more students were either giving her odd looks or cheering her on. Dante was popular amongst his peers. Not only was he a fun guy to hang around, but he also didn't care about who he was friends with. He was nice to everyone, so when they found out he had a major crush on Mary, they all rooted for him.
Finally, just as she was mere feet from Dante, he turned around. His eyes widened at the sight of her. She didn't say anything at first and only pointed to the front of her shirt. Her shirt was pizza themed and letters on the front spelled out: "I was wrong. This isn't cheesy at all."
She gave Dante a smile before turning around to reveal the back of the shirt, which had "Prom?" spelled out in big red letters. And before he could say anything, she dropped down to one knee and held up the box. She opened it to reveal a pizza with pepperonis that formed a heart.
"So what do you say, Dante? Still want to go to prom with me?'
Dante stared at her, completely frozen. His brain short-circuited. Did Mary—his Mary—just pull off the most epic, ridiculous, amazing promposal he’d ever seen? His heart was racing, and for the first time in his life, he was actually speechless.
His friends started hollering and cheering, and a few even pounded on the lunch tables, hyping up the moment. Other students joined in. Even Vergil, who usually didn’t care for such nonsense, had a smirk on his face as he crossed his arms, clearly enjoying the show. He shook his head back and forth. Turns out there was someone out there in the world who liked Dante's antics.
A smile appeared on Dante's face. Then, in classic Dante fashion, he dramatically clutched his chest as if he had just been struck by Cupid himself.
"Mary," he gasped, "this is the single greatest moment of my life."
"You—you—just made me swoon. This is everything I ever wanted."
He crouched down to her level, took the pizza box gently, and inspected it with a dramatic nod of approval. "Pepperoni heart? Absolute perfection." He looked back at her, his grin turning softer, more genuine.
"Yes. A thousand times yes. I would love to go to prom with you, Mary."
Without thinking, he grabbed a slice, took a huge bite, then held another one out to her.
"Care to join me?"
She smiled back and took a seat next to him, brushing her hand against his as she took the slice.
As he finished his piece, he leaned into her.
"So, does this mean you like me?"
Mary took a bite of her pizza, acting as if she was deep in thought. She tapped a finger against her chin, making a dramatic show of it.
"Hmm... I don’t know, Dante. Maybe I just really like pizza."
"Yes… I like you", she said, finishing her slice.
Dante immediately sat up straight, his grin stretching ear to ear. "I knew it! Jackpot for real this time!"
Trish, who was watching from across the room, gave Mary an approving nod. Vergil, however, just rolled his eyes.
Dante leaned back with a satisfied sigh. "Alright, now that we’re officially going to prom together, we gotta talk outfits. I was thinking—"
"Absolutely not," Mary interrupted, shaking her head.
She could only imagine what his idea of a prom outfit was.
Dante groaned but then shrugged with a playful grin. "Fine, fine. But at least let me pick the after-party food?"
Mary raised an eyebrow. "If it's pizza, I swear—"
"Okay, okay! Maybe I'll branch out. But no promises," Dante chuckled.
Mary rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the fond smile on her face. He was still ridiculous, still over-the-top, but now… now he was her ridiculous, over-the-top Romeo.