Hase - Before Ever After

Chapter 2 - The Pompoms Strike Again

"Rose, I-..."

SMASH!

A flying apple pie hit his head just when he started to talk.

"Oh, come on! An apple pie? That's not even funny, guys". Hawk said with irritation burning in his icy blue eyes.

The pompons had made a mess out of the table, starting a food war. The fruit punch went all the way up and landed on Travis' head when he was just about to make a move on Ling-Ling. "Bad luck beast", he said.

Rose immediately took her wand out and shouted "Pumpkin magic!", the pompoms started to float and she got them all out of the mess they'd made. Giving the place a little glance over, she could tell she was in trouble.

As the disturbance was under control, everybody stared at Rose, their faces covered by all kinds of food. She gave them a nervous smile and said "I'm so sorry, everyone. I promise they'll behave from now on".

No one actually believed her words, but they were used to it enough so this wouldn't kill the mood for them.

With a swipe of a wand from the headmistress, and a warning that they would be discussing the pompoms matter later, the ballroom was impeccable again, and everyone got back to their partners, including Rose.

Approaching Hawk, she saw his nervousness as he fidgeted his fingers. It was cute to see the always so full of himself Hawk Snow White struggling to keep his calm down.

She couldn't help but wonder what could possibly be the cause of his nerve wreck, and despite not wanting to get her hopes up, she wished to be the very reason why he looked so anxious.

There was definitely something unsettling about the way he looked at her when they were dancing, and the softness of his voice against her ear when he started to talk made her heart skip a beat.

Not wanting to wait a second longer to know what he had to say before the pompoms incident, she touched his shoulder from behind, only to feel a little scared jump as he turned around to see her.

When he looked at her, all he could see was the confusion in her eyes by the sudden reaction he had. Worried that it might have given her the wrong idea, Hawk immediately tried to explain himself.

"Uh... Rose, I'm sorry, it's just that... Well, I-I was kind of lost in thought and you startled me a little. I'm truly sorry." He said, sheepishly.

Hearing the worry in his words she could tell he was being sincere, and so she gave him a reassuring smile.

"It's okay. So... I guess you wanted to say something to me?" She asked curiously.

"O-oh, yeah, right... I had something to say..." He mumbled awkwardly. "W-well, I... I guess what I wanted to say was...".

He was really trying his best, but the moment of courage was gone and he could not form a sentence without stuttering from nervousness.

Accepting the fact that he would no longer be able to confess his feelings for her, and trying to avoid further embarrassment, Hawk took a deep breath to calm his nerves down and simply said "I'm just really glad it's all over".

Rubbing the back of his neck and putting a fake smile on, he looked at Rose who seemed more confused now than when the conversation started.

But as the awkward silence between them grew almost deafening, she gave him a half-hearted smile and avoided looking into his eyes as she spoke.

"Oh... Yeah, that's great!" A slight pinch of disappointment could be heard in her voice. "I think I'm gonna go look for Astoria. See you later, Hawk".

She excused herself and went looking for her friend.