Aces [#NANOWRIMO2017]

February 27th [Part One]

A/N There will be three parts to the February 27th narrative. The first and third are told in a third-person perspective, the second from Ace's POV.

After her mother had given Seraphine permission to use whatever she wanted from her mother's makeup kit, Seraphine had spent half an hour trying to figure out how to apply eyeliner and had almost given up at one point, but she'd pushed on and eventually, her efforts had paid off. She then moved onto the lip gloss; that one was a bit easier, since she'd used it once or twice in the past when she'd been wanting to look extra nice. She'd briefly considered also using a bright eyeshadow, but Seraphine wasn't a huge fan of makeup and didn't want to go too overboard, so she decided to go with a more natural tone. She finished up by brushing a tiny bit of blush on both cheeks -- just a little, since she didn't want to look too much like a bisque doll.

Looking into the mirror, Seraphine grinned at her reflection. "Hey, I look pretty dang good," she said to no one in particular, puckering up her lips and blowing her image a kiss. The mirror kissed back.

Across town, Lynne was getting herself ready for some "me time". She'd been wanting to hang with Sera today, but Sera had excused herself, saying (as Lynne was starting to grow accustomed to) that she had a lot of homework to do. Lynne smiled at the thought. Sera was always so focused on homework; recently, she'd been spending more and more time holed up in her room studying. Live a little, girl! Lynne thought, sticking out her tongue in mock-disgust.

Still, Lynne didn't mind too much about her best friend ditching her. Sera had always been just a little clingy, and while it didn't bother Lynne that much, she was glad that her best friend was finally figuring out how to stand on her own, without constantly seeking out Lynne's approval.

She held up a two pairs of earrings to the light; star-shaped dangling little earrings that were identical save for the color. Silver or blue? she mused.

Seraphine twirled around her bedroom in her brand-new, poofy, lacy, lilac-colored dress. It's so comfy, she marvelled, swishing the skirt around her ankles. How can something this pretty be so comfy? She'd found the dress on sale at the mall over the summer when she'd gone shopping with Lynne. Fashion wasn't really her thing, but Sera had been especially bored that day and had decided to join Lynne at the outlets. She hadn't really been looking for any outfits of her own, but when she'd seen the gorgeous dress, she'd just had to have it. Up until now, though, she'd never have any opportunity to wear it.

Thinking about Lynne made Seraphine feel a little guilty about ditching her. Earlier, Sera had lied to avoid Lynne's disapproval, but it was tiring going behind her best friend's back all the time. Sera made up her mind right there to tell Lynne tomorrow the truth about her and Ace.

But for tonight, she just wanted to focus on what was in front of her. She was finally going on her first date with Ace Renshaw. Seraphine hugged herself and squealed silently.

Definitely silver, Lynne decided. She put in the earrings, then changed into the outfit that she'd laid out for herself; a sweet, lacy, light blue crop top that she'd designed herself (never mind that it was freezing outside, sacrifices must be made in the name of fashion) and white distressed jeans.

Lynne took one last look in the mirror before grabbing her car keys from off of her desk and heading out the door. "Bye, mom! Love you!" she called.

"See you soon, honey," her mother replied. "Be back by nine, okay?"

"I will!"

Seraphine jumped up in excitement when the doorbell rang. Flying down the stairs, she flung open the front door to see Ace standing there. He'd shed his typical green hoodie and ripped jeans in favor of a brown leather jacket, tight white shirt, and light blue slacks.

"Wow," said Seraphine appreciatively. "You clean up well."

"Glad you think so," Ace said with an impish smile. "Do you realize how much willpower it took me to leave my sneakers at home?"

Seraphine looked at Ace's feet. "But... you're still wearing your sneakers," she pointed out.

"Yeah, I lost a battle of wills," Ace replied sheepishly. Sera giggled. "Anyway, I have something for you."

Sera watched as Ace rummaged around in his pocket for a couple seconds, eventually pulling out a very familiar silver object and slipping it onto her wrist. "Shall we go?" he asked her chivalrously.

"Lead the way."

Lynne got into her car and started to drive. She wasn't quite sure where she was going; she only wanted to take some time off for herself. That was all she knew.

She passed The Steak Shack, the movie theatre, Windy Point Park... all great places, but she just wasn't feeling it tonight. She kept driving, taking random turns left and right until she found herself in a dead end. She debated turning around and finding a different way, but eventually decided, I'm putting my trust in Fate tonight, and if she led me here? I'm sure as hell not going to question her judgement. That chick's gotten me out of a ton of tight situations.

Parking her car, Lynne got out and walked.

"Where are you taking me?" Seraphine asked her date, struggling to keep up with his large strides.

"I'm about to change your life," was the cryptic response.

Seraphine giggled. "Is that the only answer I get?"

"Yep. Keep your eyes closed!" Ace scolded. "No peeking allowed."

"This better be good," Seraphine said sulkily. "If I'm not even allowed to know where we're going—"

"It's good, I promise," replied Ace. "You'll love it. Almost as much as you love me."

"Then by all means, lead the way."

Lynne was lost among the flower fields.

Not long after she'd left behind her car, she'd found a part of the road where the flat, black pavement turned to gravel, and after following the gravel trail just a little farther, she'd found herself in a cute little flower meadow that she'd never seen before. She kept walking forwards for a bit longer until it occurred to her that the sun was setting and the sky was getting darker with every step she took. Maybe I should turn back now, she realized. I'll just go to Greg's after all. Maybe the cute brown-haired boy will be working a shift there.

So Lynne had turned and was about to head back — until she realized that she had no idea where back was. She'd managed to get quite a ways into the meadow and now couldn't find any recognizable landmarks to guide her back to the car.

She'd taken a moment to panic, another moment to pull herself together, and after a long and careful mental analysis in which she went over a variety of ideas of how to get herself out of the meadow, she decided: I'm screwed.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now."

Seraphine did, and gasped in astonishment and rapture. "Oh my goodness, Ace. Did... did you do all of this for me?"

Ace had led her to a forest clearing with a table and two chairs set up in the middle, as well as a two bowls with spoons balanced on their edges. Strings of fairy lights were woven through the branches in the trees surrounding the setup, and a vase had been placed on the table. Balanced inside the vase was one single pink and white peony. A thin layer of snow covered the ground, and the sunset in the distance filled the entire clearing with an air of romance.

"Just like Robin Hood and his merry men," Ace said, smiling. "Tonight, we dine in the forest."

"You remembered," Seraphine breathed. "I can't believe you remembered." She took a step into the clearing. "Ace, it's so beautiful."

"It is," Ace agreed, looking directly at her. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."