“...For the first time in forever, they'll be magic, they'll be fun! For the first time in forever, you could be noticed by someone! And I know it is totally crazy to dream you'd find romance, but for the first time in forever, at least you've got a chance!” sang Victor, paraphrasing the eponymous Frozen song, adjusting the pronouns in the lyrics to fit for her friend Miles...who indeed the first time in forever was being asked out on a date!
Victor bounced around Miles, buzzing with enthusiasm and delight that her best pal in all the world wasn't going to be lonely anymore. Girlish thoughts about candlelit dinners and random dance numbers in the middle of traffic like in La La Land ran through her mind.
“Hey, could you stop doing that? I might be wearing a dress, but at least I've still got some dignity left” said Miles, trying to hide a small but noticeable smirk at Victor's antics.
“Yeah, you're right” giggled Victor. “And I shouldn't be singing that song anyway, considering it's about a naive girl who eventually gets her heart broken. Thomas is no Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. At least he better not be, or else he gets a knuckle sandwich” said Victor, raising a fist in faux anger. Miles noticed that Victor, who normally could at least take care of himself in a fight, now couldn't appear less intimidating. Whatever was robbing Victor of his masculinity had apparently decided that he'd fight all sloppy and uncoordinated like a girl too.
“That's not how you form a fist”.
Victor's face dropped a little.
“How do you do it?” she asked innocently.
Miles showed Victor how to form a fist. He talked a little bit about boxing and how to properly defend yourself while the two of them walked to the cafeteria. Miles figured he had to do SOMETHING to get his mind off the fact that he was wearing pearls and walking in heels now.
When the two friends walked inside the cafeteria, they got in line to get their food. Victor picked up some tacos, because everyone loves tacos, and Miles grabbed a bowl of chili and a slice of apple pie.
“Victor, be serious for a second. Something insane is happening!” said Miles after paying the cashier at the register.
“I know it is Miles. What are we going to do?” asked Victor more somberly, swinging her crimson hair femininely to her other shoulder.
“OK, so something magical is obviously going on. Reality is changing. We need to find anyone who knows about that stuff.”
“What, like Harry Potter or Elphaba or something?”
“Yeah, but for real. Think. Do we know anyone who knows about the occult?”
Victor thought for a second. “I guess we could ask Lisa Conroy. She's a Wiccan.”
“What's that??” asked Miles.
“She's...”
Victor was cut off as the two friends carried their lunch trays looking for a table to sit down at when they heard a familiar voice.
“Nellie! Victoria! Where are you going?!”
They both turned to their right and saw a table fit for six people. Currently four were sitting around it: Janice Underwood, Diana Petrelli, Stacy Zhang, and Jessica Bell. They were all cool, popular girls in the same grade as Victor and Miles.
“You...you want us to sit with you?” asked Miles incredulously. He remembered how Stacy and her little gang had made fun of him for his hair when he first got into school this morning.
“Yeah!” said Stacy. “C'mon, you have to share the details! We heard that Thomas Klukas just asked you out!”.
Miles and Victor traded glances with each other and both slowly walked over to Stacy's table and sat down next to her. Victor picked up one of his tacos and bit into it.
“OK, so spit. What'd he say?” asked Stacy, almost demanding details like she was a drill instructor.
“Well,,,” said Miles shyly, not wanting to admit his newfound feelings, but Victor's excited cadence spoke for him.
“OK, so Thomas just like walked up to us after gym class, pretending to be all modest about losing at dodgeball . Me and Nellie totally beat his ass by the way” added Victor in a stage whisper. “Then he like pretended to be all shy and cute and junk, but then he just went out and started flattering her and then asked for her phone number.”
Stacy smiled.
“Nellie! I'm so happy! I knew you'd do it, girl!” said the attractive girl as she hugged Miles like a sister.
Miles was wondering to himself how much reality had actually changed if Stacy Zhang was hugging Miles and treating him so affectionately, as their relationship had always been a bit weird. They weren't enemies or anything, but Miles didn't know if she liked him, or hated him, or was playing hard to get. He just didn't have a good read on Stacy when she would casually tease or flirt with him every now and then and then pretend the next day like nothing happened. Miles had always been paranoid that he was being led on, and Stacy and her girlfriends laughed about what a fool they were making of him when Miles wasn't around. Now though...now they seemed like friends.
“Thomas must love that '50s girl next door aesthetic you've got going on” said Diana, adding to the conversation. “I know that half the boys think your retro look is really cute. Personally, I kind of do too” she added, giving a flirtatious wink.
“T-thanks?” said Miles, subconsciously tugging on his new pearl necklace.