Closed Synonymous

[Rion Pendleton]

Rion stood on the edge of the dance floor, twirling a pink rose between her fingers. It wasn't her own; she'd found it seemingly discarded on the wall in the courtyard earlier that afternoon and picked it up with the intention to give it away. And she knew exactly who she wanted to give it to. There was no particular reason for her sudden infatuation with Horror, other than that she had just noticed he was quite cute and was curious about his strange name, and she was certain that she felt drawn to him for some deep reason she couldn't possibly comprehend yet.

She took a deep breath, sidled up behind him, and tapped him on the shoulder.

 

[Terror Zhefarovich]

Terror Zhefarovich didn't exactly dressed for a dance, since it was not his scene, but he was more interested in what Gregory and Dahlia were doing. He had a cup of punch to his lips as he debated on approaching them. Then again, his event during Halloween might be exposed, so he remained in conflict. Could he lose Dahlia as a potential ally? It was hard to plan ahead. That is, his thoughts were interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. His red eyes could hardly believe the audacity of someone touching him. He turned his head over his shoulder to see a first year. "What do you want?" Terror asked in a cool tone.​

 

[Rion Pendleton]

Rion flinched. "Hi," she said. It wasn't too late to pretend she'd got the wrong person. But she was here now, and she hadn't worked up all this courage just to walk away. She thrust out the pretty pink rose. "This is for you."

 

[Terror Zhefarovich]

Terror had no idea who this girl was but she was greeting him. He turned around to face her since otherwise it would be rude. She was giving him a pink rose? "Do you know what pink roses stand for?" Terror asked as he took the rose from the stranger.​

 

[Rion Pendleton]

Rion took her bag into both hands before she could do that thing where she started fidgeting nervously with her clothes. "Um... a crush?" she said, with what she hoped was a cute smile. Ugh, why was she so nervous? She was never nervous! And now she was making herself look silly in front of a cute boy. She could only hope he found it endearing.

 

[Terror Zhefarovich]

Terror waited for the answer and it was as he thought. A crush. He put the pink rose in the palm of his hand. "So, you must be implying you have feelings for either my brother Horror or myself. Allow me to reply to your crush." Terror clinched his hand into a fist, crushing the rose in his hand. He opened it back and dropped the ruined rose onto the floor.​

 

[Rion Pendleton]

His brother Horror...? Oh, no. How could Rion be so stupid? Horror had an identical twin brother in the year above. She'd known this, heard it several times over the year amongst the lunchtime gossip, but her brain had apparently never regarded it worth holding onto. She watched the crushed rose fall to the floor, her cheeks burning and a rock forming in her throat. "Oh," she said softly. She wouldn't cry. She couldn't hide her hurt, but she could hold back her tears. "I don't know what I did to you. But I'm sorry." Once she had turned her back on him, she let her face crumple, but still she held herself together, walking calmly towards the exit. For Rion, the dance was over.

 

[Terror Zhefarovich]

Terror watched as he made her hopes crumble in front of him, and it was absolutely delightful. Though he was annoyed that someone confused him with Horror, but with her running away, Terror made sure that the pink rose was demolished by finishing it off with his foot. "Good riddance," Terror shook his head, wondering if he had done Horror a favor. Now, to see what Gregory and Dahlia were up to.​

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Fin​