Bittersweet Candy Bowl

I guess I should thank Frustrated Writer for giving me this idea, and once again I probably messed up in some places but I ~hope~ I’m getting better.

Oh well, no turning back now.
—-
Lucy pushed the heavy door of the gymnasium open, making the once-muffled music loud and the shouts from her peers mingled with the melodies. The once-stark white walls of the gym were covered in streamers and bright pastel decorations and the wooden floor was covered in a sea of feet from the couples swinging to the music. Tables lay against the walls filled with piles of confectionary delights, and the huge bowl of punch stood in the middle, separating the piles of food. Lucy cautiously entered the room so as not to draw attention to herself, frowning greatly.

“Gah, Daisy.” She thought, wading through the crowd toward the rear of the gym that was filled with tables for eating. “Why’d she convince me to come to this dance?”

She approached the brightly-clothed tables and plopped down in one of the folding chairs, muttering to herself and crossing her arms. She’d gotten many requests from boys to go to the dance with her but she reacted in her usual manner and they scampered off like frightened rats. She had only waited for a single boy to ask her, but that request never came. When she told Daisy she was refusing to go to the dance, the small blonde feline took it upon herself to annoy Lucy constantly until she regretfully agreed to go if Daisy would stop bothering her. She still remembered the look of self-satisfaction on the girl’s face when she realized she had broken Lucy. And so here she sat, alone and miserable at this occasion, waiting for Daisy to drag herself over to the table to speak to her.

Her eyes scanned the crowded gymnasium for a glimpse of the feline, but it was fruitless. The floor was so teeming with teenagers she couldn’t recognize anyone, and the dim lights didn’t make it any better. She angrily sighed and fiddled with her thumbs before a shadow fell over her and she looked up to see Daisy and Abbey, hand in hand.

“Oh Lucy, I’m so glad you came!” Daisy said cheerfully as Abbey pulled out her chair for her. Abbey took a seat next to his girlfriend and smoothed out his lapel before examining the room around him.

“The volunteers did a splendid job with the decorations.” Abbey admired the pastel colors and creative shapes that were the decorations.

Daisy chuckled and sighed. “Yes, the decorations are quite beautiful.”

Abbey shot Daisy a quaint look and smiled at her. “Not as beautiful as you are, Daisy.”

Daisy blushed and Abbey smiled, both ignoring Lucy’s rolling-of-the-eyes at their love struck behavior.

“Oh come on Lucy, cheer up! There’s plenty of boys he—“ She lost her speaking confidence as Lucy glared at her, causing a tense silence at the table. Abbey laughed nervously and tugged on the collar of his suit before someone slapped him hard on the back and nearly sent his head flying into the table.

“Hey grandpa.” Paulo said, snickering. Abbey rubbed the back of his head and muttered quietly to himself as the orange Somali took a seat at their table, sporting a “stylishly” unkempt suit. He drummed his fingers on the table before speaking again.

“Hey, why’s everyone so quiet? Come on, let’s party!” Lucy glared at him and Abbey and Daisy remained silent as the tense air around the table became thicker. Paulo sighed and rolled his eyes, tipping himself back in his chair.

“You guys need to loosen up and have some fun for once.”

Abbey rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. “Your version of fun is rather uncouth and I doubt Daisy and I would find it enjoyable.”

“Yes, we know you’re old-fashioned, fruitcake.” Paulo said teasingly, smiling as Abbey rubbed his temples harder. “But I didn’t realize dancing was considered vulgar.”

“This music is.” Abbey retorted. Paulo laughed again. “You really are a blast from the past.”

He reached into his pocket and fiddled for a few moments before taking out a crisp five dollar bill and handing it to Abbey, slightly amused by the look of surprised shock on his face.

“Go, request a song and have some fun.”

Abbey took the money and thanked Paulo, rising from his chair and extending his hand to Daisy. The two ran off towards the DJ booth, leaving Paulo and Lucy alone at the table. Lucy shut her eyes and drowned out the noise around her, but Paulo’s voice came rolling over her ears, much to her own dismay.

“So Lucy, where’s your date?” He asked knowingly.

“I’m only here for Daisy.” She said bluntly, not opening her eyes.

Paulo chuckled at her response and she lazily opened one eyelid to glare at him. “Something funny?”

Paulo shook his head and rose from the table, sliding his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, how star struck you are with Mike.”

Lucy’s eyes shot open and they followed Paulo as he walked away from the table, only to disappear in the throng of dancing teenagers. She sighed and stared around the room, knowing it’d be awhile before she’d be able to sneak out. As her eyes ran over the gymnasium’s entrance, the door slid open and she instinctively watched it, only to be surprised as Michael walked in, alone and glum. She nearly fell from her chair as he walked towards the back room and scrambled away from her table, scaring a young male as she pushed past him. She hid near the punch bowl and followed him with her eyes as he sat down at the very table she had been at, crossing his arms and gently rocking his chair with his foot. She breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the punch table as a voice called out to her.

“Hey, go talk to him.”

Lucy looked over to her side to see Paulo standing there, holding a glass of the red liquid and gently swirling it. She huffed and turned her head away from him, listening to him chuckle.

“Now’s your chance to at least have some fun, even if it’s only a Cinderella deal.”

Lucy thought about Paulo’s words for a few moments and sighed. She turned and hugged him tightly, surprising him from her behavior.

“Thanks Paulo. You’re a good friend.”

She released her grip on him and she disappeared into the crowd of students, leaving Paulo behind with a large smile on his face. As she approached the table, her confidence grew smaller and smaller and she ended up walking over to the bleachers and sitting down, burying her face in her hands. She felt like crying but it would do no good, Michael was with someone else. As she sat there, she did not take note of the figure that approached her, sitting next to her and gently placing a hand on her shoulder. She lifted her head to see Michael sitting next to her, grinning slightly.

“Hey Lucy.” He said sheepishly. She shrugged his arm off and turned away, not speaking to him.

He remained quiet for a moment. “We’ve been through so much, I think we at least deserve a night of some kind of happiness. Would you care to dance?”

He rose from his seat and held out his hand to her, but she motioned to brush past him.

“I don’t need your damn pity.” She told him, but his hand grasped her shoulder firmly and he held her back.

“Please, Lucy. I think it’d make us both happier… and less hateful.”

She lowered her head and forced a small grin.

“I… I think I’d like that.”

Michael was mildly surprised that she had not hit him or yelled at him yet, but he gently took her hand and led her over to the dance floor. The song that was currently playing ended and the DJ’s gruff voice echoed throughout the speaker system.

“Hey kiddies, it looks like we got a request here and seeing as how I need money for my retirement fund, y’all best be dealin’ with it.”

The lights over the dance floor dimmed as the DJ blew the dust off an old record and sat it on the player, moving the stylus over its black ridged edges.

“I wondered should I go, or should I stay; the band with only one more song to play. And then I saw you out the corner of my eye, a little girl alone and so shy…”

Michael assumed the waltz form with Lucy as most of the students grumbled and left the dance floor, unable to move in such a graceful fashion.

“I had the last waltz with you, two lonely people together. I fell in love with you, the last waltz should last forever.”

Lucy blushed and looked away from Michael as the pair made circular motions around the dance floor.

“But the love we had was goin’ strong, through the good and bad we get along, and then the flame of love died in your eyes, my heart was broke in two and you said goodbye.”

Michael smiled as Lucy relaxed in his grip, both of them actually enjoying themselves.

“I had the last waltz with you, two lonely people together. I fell in love with you, the last waltz should last forever.”

She rested her head on Michael’s shoulder as the song continued, the slow melody bouncing around the quiet gymnasium.

“It’s all over now, nothing left to say, just my tears and the orchestra playing. La la la la la…”

Michael patted Lucy’s back as she sobbed quietly into his shoulder, the song nearing its completion.

“I had the last waltz with you, two lonely people together. I fell in love with you, the last waltz should last forever.”

As the song ended, Paulo met up with Abbey and Daisy near the tables in back, exposing a stick of gum from his pocket and chewing it. The three grinned as they watched Michael and Lucy.

“They needed this.” Daisy said, tears welling in her eyes.

“Good work, Paulo, I must say.” Abbey admitted, patting Paulo’s back.

“Yeah. They look happy, don’t they?” He said, sighing.

Michael led Lucy back over to their table and pulled her seat out for her, sitting next to her and conversing quietly with her. The three masterminds joined them at the table and for the rest of the night, they really enjoyed themselves. For once, the constant battle was quieted as an armistice was drawn only for a true Cinderella night like this one. Time grew old and as it did, Lucy grew tired with it. She regretfully admitted she had to leave as she needed rest, and Michael offered to walk her home. The pair stopped at her front door and she turned to give Michael a hug.

“Thanks, Mike. For everything.” She said, blushing slightly.

He cleared his throat and sighed. “Look, Lucy. I’m sorry. I was rude with how I reacted and I didn’t think it’d hurt you so much.”

Lucy averted her gaze from his face as he held out his hand. “Friends?”

She took his hand and shook it vigorously. “Friends.”

The two old companions smiled at their patched reconciliation, saving the major repair job for another time and place, not wanting to ruin the events of that night. There was a quaint silence before Lucy cleared her throat and turned to enter her home. “Goodnight, Michael.”

He grabbed hold of her wrist and gave her a tender kiss on the cheek, causing her to blush profoundly.

“Goodnight, Cinderella.” Michael said knowingly, walking away from her doorstep and leaving her star struck on the doormat. She patted her cheek where he had kissed and watched him depart, smiling to herself.

“Thanks a lot, jerkface.” She chuckled, entering her home and closing the door behind her.

END

Wow, very nice work.
Very simple and with a happy ending. ^.^

Fantastic Needed to find a fanfic that’d clear my mind of Maverik’s “Love Me”. A nice happy ending to go with the oncoming rush of old-style happy Mike and Lucy.

Oh God, “Love Me.”

I remember when I first read that.

Wow nice one I am having trouble writitng a fanfic staring the ever-loquacious Amaya
^_^ Tis difficult :L But nice one, not too much drama

We need more stories like this, Susan. We need to keep the balance between over the top (but superbly written) death or emotional torture stories to represent the Bitter half, and fantastic (and superbly written) emotional resolution stories like this to represent to Sweet half. Keep up the good work!

That’s an interesting analogy, I must admit that really impressed me.

Hehe. ^.^
I like how it didn’t end with a kiss, and knowing that they won’t be together. It’s that bitter half Elliot mentioned.

You should sooo do an AbbeyxDaisy story. ._. I’d love to see how you’d pull it off~.

This was a realy nice story, and felt 10000% more authentic than all other fanfics I’ve read so far.

Good by fanfic standards, and since it’s shimmering with the magic of MikexLucy you get bonus points in my book.

Well thank you guys.

I feel compelled to write something silly like “mikexlucy otp” so there.

Now that’s a happy ending [for one chapter]. ;D

I came in expecting a rock concert. Great fic Sue.

I love happy endings. We need more of those.