On your knees // Bandom

32. all the kids are depressed

Frank walked into the music room feeling loved. He clapped his hands and brought the room to attention. Mikey and Ryan R gave him a look.

"First of all I got asked to winter dance by a cute boy, which is like, the dream."
"Not for everyone!" Jamia replied, reacher her hand out for a high five. Ray complied.
"Secondly, I found out about," He raised his fingers into air quotes. "'mission Frerard'"
Pete cheered.
"So I have another proposition for y'all."
"By the way you're a surprisingly good speaker," Ryan S told him.
"Thank you. Now, for my idea, drumroll please..."
Brendon supplied.
"Jamia needs a date for the dance!"
Jamia groaned.
"Can I come up with the name?" Pete asked.
"Of course," Frank granted.

Jamia had groaned when he announced it, but secretly she liked that he'd done that, and she liked this new, confident, version of her best friend.

Ray left the room in search of someone.
He found Kitty and Jimmy eating banned fast food on a table in his History room.

"Hey, Kitty,"
"Hey," They both returned. He ignored Jimmy.
"So my friend is looking for a date to the dance,"
"Is that friend me?" Jimmy asked.
"You have one."
"One who doesn't acknowledge me,"
"Hi, Jimmy."
"Do you even know the colour of my tie?"
"I told you we're doing this on sunday."
"Fine," He grumbled.

"Anyway," Ray turned back to Kitty. "Do you have a date?"
"No,"
"Would you want one?"
"Depends who it is?"
"Jamia."

Kitty couldn't believe he'd asked her this. Ray. Ray who definitely liked her but was going to the dance with Jimmy, who liked him. It was a little confusing. Dancing with Jamia sounded like a terrible idea, if she was being honest, but she wanted to, desperately.

It physically hurt Ray to ask Kitty to the dance with someone else, but he did it, because he was actually a decent person, or so he and his friends thought.

"Okay," Kitty replied, her voice small.
"Okay what?"
"Ill go with Jamia, if she wants that."
"Excellent."

It wasn't excellent. Not really. Not for anyone. It was all compromises and friendships that may or may not be more than that. Unrequited love.

"Are we meeting at the mall on sunday, then?" Jimmy asked, trying to keep Ray in the vicinity.
"Sure,"
"Do you know the bus times?"
"Oh. You're getting the bus?"
"Yeah, what else?"
"I can drive."
"You can drive?"
"Yeah, I don't have a car but I can take my brothers, he's back at the moment."
"Are you seriously picking me up?"
"Yeah, no biggie."
"Okay. Okay. Cool. Okay."
Ray shook his head slowly, smiling. "Do you wanna eat something afterwards?"
"Are you doing this on purpose?" Kitty asked, because it just seemed cruel at this point.
"Doing what?"
"Making it sound like a date."
"UnIntentionally, promise, sorry Jimmy."
"What time are you picking me up?" It may be a pity date, or not a date at all, but Jimmy was taking full advantage.
"One?"
"Sounds good."

Kitty watched them, and she wanted to blame Ray for his, although unintentional, playing of Jimmys heart. Then again, Jimmy was happy like this, and she didn't want to ruin that. She just hoped he wouldn't have his heart broken. Ray wasn't cruel but he was clueless, and they can have the same results.

~

Mikey had found a daisy on the way home, and he was pulling off the petals one by one, trying not to think of Pete.

He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me...

He could have counted ahead and figured out what the answer was, but he hadn't, because he didn't really want to know.

He wanted Pete to love him, right? That was the point — that when he had his shit figured out, they could work again.

But come the end, there was one petal left, and it meant that it was true, and Pete did love him. So Mikey threw away the flower, because he didn't actually want that. He didn't know what he wanted.